Evidence in Slip and Fall Cases

The evidence needed for a slip and fall case can help establish how the accident happened, whether a property owner knew or should have known about a hazardous condition, and the injuries and losses that followed. 

Whether you fell on ice in Millennium Park or were hurt in a Wrigleyville brownstone, we can review all details of your personal injury lawsuit and help identify the evidence that may support your claim. 

To prove negligence in a slip and fall case in Illinois, you generally need evidence showing that a property owner or responsible party owed you a duty, failed to meet that duty, and that the failure caused your fall and resulting injuries. 

Contact us today for a free consultation about how to win a slip and fall accident case.

What Kind of Evidence Is Needed to Support a Slip and Fall Case?

You can increase settlement amounts in slip-and-fall cases by preserving evidence and presenting it convincingly. Showing how the accident occurred, how badly you were hurt, and what financial losses you suffered will support your slip-and-fall claim and ensure you receive fair compensation. 

Evidence in a slip and fall case can include photographs, surveillance footage, an incident report, witness statements, and maintenance and inspection records.

Evidence Needed to Prove Liability

Illinois uses modified comparative negligence to determine liability (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). This means that everyone involved in the slip-and-fall case is assigned a percentage of blame, and you cannot recover damages if you are more than 50% responsible; if you are no more than 50% at fault, your damages may be reduced by your percentage of fault. 

Property owners must maintain reasonably safe premises for visitors. Evidence can help establish whether the owner knew about a dangerous condition or should have known about it through constructive notice. 

A property owner may have notice of a hazardous condition through previous complaints, inspections, employee observations, or other records. Maintenance and inspection records, incident reports, and witness statements may help establish what happened before the fall.

If you were injured at work, workers’ compensation may apply depending on the circumstances of the accident and your employment relationship.

Photographs, Videos, and Security Camera Footage of the Hazardous Condition

Photos of the accident scene can reveal hazardous conditions, such as a wet floor, poor lighting, uneven surfaces, or debris. 

Security camera footage may show the condition of the property and what happened immediately before and after the accident. Surveillance footage preservation can be important because businesses may routinely overwrite or delete recordings.

You can also use photographs and videos of the property before the accident occurred to demonstrate that the hazard existed before you were hurt. 

Incident Reports and Business Records

An incident report may document when and where a slip and fall occurred and what employees observed after the accident.

You should always file a slip-and-fall incident report, especially if the accident occurred on commercial property like a Pilsen bar. This will help us determine when the accident occurred, allowing us to search through security footage for timestamps, and it will also indicate whether the business owner failed to address the issue after becoming aware of it. 

We’ll also look at the business’s records to see if there were any previous complaints about property conditions, if they have performed any repairs, and if they work with any maintenance companies who may also be liable for the accident. 

Maintenance Logs and Cleaning Schedules

Businesses and government properties may keep cleaning schedules and maintenance logs showing when an area was inspected or cleaned.

If you slipped on an oil spill in a casino garage, these records may help establish whether employees knew about the condition and how long it remained before the accident.

Maintenance and inspection records can therefore be relevant when determining whether reasonable safety procedures were followed. 

Witness Statements and Testimony

Witnesses may provide information about the hazardous condition and what they saw before, during, or after the accident.

Employees, fellow shoppers, guests, and other people at the location may have observed a wet floor or another dangerous condition.

Witness statements and testimony may help establish what the property owner, employees, or other responsible parties knew about the condition. 

Prior Complaints or Code Violations

Previous accident reports, complaints, and inspection records may help establish whether a property owner had notice of a dangerous condition.

Inspectors may also identify building-code violations or other insufficiencies that are relevant to the accident.

The Chicago Building Code, Title 14B, may be relevant when a building condition is involved.

Weather and Lighting Conditions

Weather and lighting conditions may be important in outdoor slip and fall cases.

In Murphy-Hylton v. Lieberman Management Services, the Illinois Supreme Court addressed issues involving snow and ice and property-owner liability.

If your accident involved icy sidewalks, the Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act, 745 ILCS 75, may be relevant when evaluating whether an unnatural accumulation of ice or snow contributed to the accident.

Snow and ice claims may require evidence of the property’s condition, weather conditions, maintenance practices, and other circumstances surrounding the fall. 

Lighting conditions can also affect visibility. Photographs, videos, and witness accounts may help establish what someone could reasonably see at the time of the accident.

Surveillance footage and maintenance records are not kept forever. The sooner you request them, the stronger your claim. Call 312-800-1534 

Evidence Needed to Prove Slip and Fall Injuries

Medical Records of Emergency Room and Hospital Visits

Medical documentation is crucial in personal injury cases, particularly evidence collected immediately after the accident. Whether this was a workplace injury or an accident while visiting a store, always seek medical attention as soon as possible. 

Your slip and fall lawyer can then request these medical records from the hospital, such as UChicago Medicine, and demonstrate that your injuries resulted from the fall. We’ll also tabulate medical expenses in slip and fall accident casesso that you receive a fair settlement that covers all your needs. 

Imaging Reports (X-rays, MRIs, CT Scans)

These medical records will objectively confirm fall injuries like fractures, head trauma, or soft tissue damage. Always get all tests ordered by your doctor, as these provide a full picture of your injuries and what types of treatments you may require. 

Medical Expert Testimony

Expert testimony from medical professionals can significantly bolster a slip-and-fall case. Doctors, physical therapists, and other professionals will explain how your injuries occurred based on similar cases they have attended, and they can also discuss what treatments you would need to regain function. 

Photographic Evidence of the Injuries

Visual proof of the injuries suffered in a fall accident can show insurance companies that you have suffered significant damage. Get pictures of any injuries as soon as possible after the accident, as this will show the progression of your healing. 

Continuity of Care Documentation

If you do not continue to receive treatment, insurance companies can argue that you were not as seriously injured as you claim. As such, always follow your doctor’s instructions after a slip-and-fall accident, including any treatments they suggest could improve your quality of life. 

Evidence Needed to Prove Economic Damages

Medical Bills and Receipts

Hospital stays, surgeries, physical therapy, vocational therapy, prescriptions, and mental health treatment can all be included in your medical bills. Throughout your treatment, keep track of your health insurance bills or out-of-pocket spending. 

Pay Stubs and Employment Records to Prove Lost Income

Lost wages in slip and fall accident cases are crucial for both personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims. 

These will be calculated based on how much money you could have made if you were not injured. Previous pay stubs and employment records show what you typically earn in a given month, and we will then multiply this by your time off work. 

Tax Returns or Financial Statements

Some injury victims are not able to return to their previous employment or must reduce their hours because of disability. In this case, we will calculate future lost income based on your previous earnings. If you are a salaried or wage employee, we can use W-2s to show what you typically make in a year, then consult with experts to understand how your earning potential was reduced by the accident.

Self-employed workers, freelancers, and gig workers can use 1099s and financial statements to demonstrate their typical annual earnings. As these sources of income may be more inconsistent, we can assess your hourly wage and then estimate how much your earning potential has been reduced.

Invoices for Out-of-Pocket Costs

Slip-and-fall injuries often result in other expenses, such as transportation costs, childcare, housekeeping, assistive devices, and home modifications. Gathering evidence of your other expenses can show the overall impact on your life and add to your damages. 

While you are recuperating, keep all invoices and receipts for any purchases relevant to your injuries. Your attorney can review these expenses, decide which ones are most pertinent, and incorporate them into a demand letter. 

Vocational or Life Care Expert Reports

Disability in slip and fall accident cases can be assessed through expert testimony from vocational therapists and medical professionals. Through these expert witness statements, we can identify what costs you may have related to vocational retraining or long-term care. 

Evidence Needed to Prove Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages may include pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of normal life.

A slip and fall case settlement calculator may provide general information about potential damages, but each case’s circumstances and evidence differ.

Pain Journals and Daily Logs

Pain and suffering in slip and fall accident cases can involve physical pain and limitations that may not be reflected fully in medical bills.

A daily journal can record your pain on a scale of 1 to 10, limitations on activities, sleep problems, and other factual details about your recovery. 

Mental Health Treatment Records

A serious accident may cause depression, anxiety, trauma, fear, phobias, nightmares, or avoidance.

Therapist and social worker records may document these effects. A mental health professional may also provide testimony concerning the impact of the accident. 

Testimony from Family or Caregivers

Family members, friends, and caregivers may describe changes they observed after your fall.

Their observations may include changes in your hobbies, relationships, childcare responsibilities, work, mobility, or daily activities. 

Photographs or Videos Showing Life Before and After the Fall

Photo and video evidence of your life before and after the accident occurred can support your non-economic damages by showing that the injuries sustained in the fall accident have significantly changed your life. 

Relevant evidence can include side-by-side comparisons of photos before and after, as well as videos of you struggling to perform everyday activities. The purpose of this evidence is to demonstrate changes in mobility, social engagement, and overall well-being. 

Medical Opinions on Loss of Normal Life

Doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and mental health professionals can offer their professional opinions about the physical limitations and emotional suffering that result from the accident. These will be calculated according to the court system’s damages rules, including shortened life expectancy (30.04.05) or pain and suffering (30.05).

Your Attorney’s Role in Gathering Evidence

Working with the best attorney available is key to getting a fair slip-and-fall accident settlement. With over 100 years of combined legal experience, we are highly familiar with what kinds of evidence will best support your claim and will aggressively negotiate with insurance companies to receive fair compensation.

Our role in collecting and preserving evidence encompasses the following tasks.

Subpoenas: We can subpoena businesses and individuals for incident reports, medical records, surveillance footage, maintenance records, and private communications. If the other party fails to provide this information, we can request it through court motions. 

Evidence Preservation: A property owner may repair a hazardous condition after an accident, and records may later become unavailable. Spoliation of evidence can create issues when potentially relevant evidence is lost or destroyed. 

Witness Statements: Taking sworn statements is a key part of the legal process. These must be properly recorded or they will not be admissible in court. We can interview friends, family, property owners, and eyewitnesses to gain their perspectives.

Building Records and Accident Reports: Accidents on commercial properties, such as museums or stores, involve demonstrating how building defects or inadequate maintenance contributed to the accident. Common evidence may include property inspections, insurance claims, cleaning records, and private communications regarding issues. Our goal is to demonstrate that the property owner was aware of the problem and failed to take any action.

Expert Witnesses: An engineer, human factors professional, or snow-and-ice professional may be consulted when specialized knowledge is needed to explain a hazardous condition, how a person would interact with it, or the circumstances surrounding snow and ice. Expert witness testimony may help explain technical evidence relevant to liability.

An attorney may also organize the evidence into a factual account of what happened, how the property condition caused the fall, and how the injuries affected your life.

A demand letter or legal complaint may present the evidence supporting a claim.

With over 25 years of experience and 5,000 successful cases, Slip & Fall Injury Lawyers have the intensive training necessary to present all evidence convincingly. 

Fair Compensation Following a Slip and Fall Due to a Property Owner’s Negligence

Slip & Fall Injury Lawyers can review the circumstances of your accident and the available evidence and explain your legal options. If you were injured at work or on private property, an attorney can explain which legal options may apply to your circumstances.

Slip & Fall Injury Lawyers handles cases on a contingency-fee basis. No fee unless we win. 

Content reviewed by Chicago slip and fall accident lawyer Jonathan Rosenfeld of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC, who holds property owners and management companies accountable to obtain justice for injured visitors and tenants, and is a trial lawyer recognized by Super Lawyers, Lawyer Legion, and Distinguished Justice Advocates for premises liability litigation.

Legally Reviewed By
Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld

The information on this page has been legally reviewed by Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld, founder and managing partner of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC, a Chicago-based personal injury law firm. With decades of experience representing individuals injured in slip and fall accidents and other premises liability cases throughout Chicago, Mr. Rosenfeld is dedicated to protecting the rights of injury victims and helping them pursue the maximum compensation available under the law. His extensive legal knowledge and commitment to client advocacy ensure that the information provided is accurate, reliable, and aligned with current legal standards.

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