Do I Need an Accident Report After a Slip and Fall in NYC?
You are not required to file an accident report after you suffer injuries in a slip and fall incident in New York City. However, it can provide a crucial description of the event and other evidence to help you recover compensation for your injuries. If you don’t know how to file it or what information to include, contact an experienced New York City personal injury lawyer from Douglas & London in Manhattan.
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How does an accident report help you to recover damages in a slip and fall lawsuit?
To recover the largest available compensation in a slip and fall accident lawsuit, you need to show that:
- You were invited or had a right to be on the property where the accident happened
- The property owner or manager knew about a potential slip-and-fall hazard or had a duty to inspect the property to discover those hazards
- The property owner failed to fix or to warn you about the hazard
- The hazard was the direct and proximate cause of your slip and fall accident and any resulting injuries.
An accident report that you file with the local police or with the property owner or manager will help establish basic information about your accident– including when, where, and how it happened. The report might also include names and contact information for witnesses, the identity of the owner or manager, and an objective description of the hazard.
Does the accident report differ depending on where the accident occurred?
Always include as much information as possible in a slip and fall accident report. However, it can take different forms and serve different functions depending on the owner or manager of the property where you slipped and fell.
- If you slipped and fell at a retail store, a restaurant, or some other commercial establishment, the report should be sufficiently detailed to give notice of the accident to the business’s liability insurance carriers
- If your accident happened on government property, including any property owned by New York City or State, you would need to submit a detailed personal injury claim form. It should be sent to the governmental entity that owns the property within 90 days after the accident happened
- If you tripped and fell in somebody else’s house or an apartment building, the property owner’s insurance company might have an incident report form. You will need to complete it to begin the process of recovering your damages.
If you omit certain information from your accident report or you do not submit a claim form within the deadline, you might lose your right to recover the compensation you deserve. In every case, experienced NYC slip and fall lawyers are your best resource to prevent problems that arise when you do not submit or file an appropriate accident report.
Other than a slip and fall accident report, what evidence is required to verify your claim for compensation?
Your NYC slip and fall accident attorney will use many kinds of evidence to justify your damages claim. This might include your medical bills and invoices from physicians, receipts that you kept for your costs, or getting to and from medical appointments. It may also include invoices from physical and occupational therapists and pay stubs to demonstrate your lost wages.
Your attorney could also ask you and your family members to give statements or testimony regarding how your injuries are affecting your daily routine. That testimony helps your lawyer to establish a value for damages due to your pain and suffering.
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Call the New York Personal Injury Lawyers at Douglas & London for a free consultation
At Douglas & London in Manhattan, we are dedicated to helping slip and fall accident victims recover the largest possible compensation. As noted above, this would include the preparation and filing of accident reports to explain how the accident and injuries happened. Please see our website or call us directly to consult with an experienced lawyer about how you can recover damages with accident reports and other evidence that demonstrates negligence.
