Slip and Fall Cases – Documenting the Scene of the Accident

If your slip and fall case reaches trial, it will be crucial that you and your Orange County personal injury attorney present evidence establishing all of the relevant features of the scene of the accident. Fully describing the scene enables the jury to clearly envision what occurred and provides your expert witness a basis for his or her opinions. For instance, if you slip on a wet substance in the supermarket, the jury will need to know the color of the floor, the distances between various objects on the floor, the angle of the floor, what the floor looked like from your perspective, where the wet spot was located in relation to the cash registers, etc., in order to analyze what caused your fall to occur.

While you may be able to provide the jury a clear picture of the scene through testimony, offering photographic evidence is a far more effective means for conveying the material facts to the jury. As such, your Orange County personal injury attorney will take pictures of the scene as soon as possible after you retain him or her. In order for the pictures to be admissible at trial, they must accurately depict the scene as it was at the time of the accident.

In addition to taking photographs of the scene, a seasoned Orange County personal injury attorney will take physical measurements of the scene. Said measurements include changes in elevation in walkways, the dimensions of any cracks or holes, and distances between various objects. Expert witnesses need this information to evaluate the defendant’s precautionary measures and to opine as to whether they were reasonable.

Given the importance of documenting the scene, if you suffer a slip and fall that you believe arose from another person’s negligence, you should take pictures as quickly as possible. If you do not obtain pictures prior to consulting with your Orange County personal injury attorney, you should inform him or her during your first consultation that it is necessary to photograph the scene.

For assistance with your slip and fall case, please contact experiencedOrange County personal injury attorney Samer Habbas at (888) 848-5084. The initial consultation is free.