If you suffered an injury on someone’s property, you would need to provide evidence that answers the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how. Who includes you as the injured party and the property owner, lessee, or management firm responsible for the premises. The other factors will describe the conditions of the accident that resulted in the injury.
When you work with an experienced premises liability lawyer, they will assist in compiling and organizing your evidence to present your case.
The Kinds of Proof Your Lawyer Will Look for
Some of the key types of evidence you may need to give you a better chance of winning the case include:
- Medical records that show your specific injuries related to the case
- Photographs of the scene
- Video of the scene
- Interviews and statements of witnesses to the accident
- Interviews and statements from doctors who treated you
- Reports from law enforcement
- Proof that you were on the property legally
- Proof regarding the party that owns the property
- Proof regarding the party that occupies or leases the property
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How to Gather Evidence in a Premises Liability Case
Because of the complexity often present in a case involving an injury on someone else’s property, having an attorney on your side could make you feel at peace.
A victim trying to represent themselves in negotiations with the insurance company may struggle to collect the necessary evidence.
Working With Law Enforcement
If police reported to the accident scene to investigate, the information officers gathered would be important to our case. Police will be able to collect information far sooner after the accident than our legal team can. After all, it probably will take a few days or longer after the accident before you choose to hire us to represent you.
Through the police report, we can learn about witnesses. Police also may have photographs or video showing the scene’s condition immediately after the accident. The property owner may fix the condition by the time we can start our investigation, which can complicate our work to prove what happened.
However, police may not respond to accidents that occur on private property. If there is no police response, it will be up to you and other witnesses to record as much information as possible. For example, take photographs and record witnesses’ names and contact information.
Relying on Witnesses
Some premises liability cases do not have a police report available. The property owner may choose not to call the police, which can complicate the process of finding evidence in your premises liability case.
To strengthen your case and to push our investigation forward, we will rely on witnesses to the accident to prove what happened. Some of the information witnesses can help provide include:
- A description of the condition of the property prior to the accident
- Photographs or video the witness may have recorded on a smartphone
- A description of how the accident occurred
- Their opinion regarding whether the property owner kept the area in a safe condition
- Their testimony about why you were on the property
Relying on Your Testimony
We also will collect testimony from you, the victim in the case. You will need to describe what happened to you. You will need to provide testimony that you were on the property legally, as OCGA §51-3-1 states that this is the only class of individuals that could be entitled to compensation in a premises liability case.
You also can describe any emotional trauma you are experiencing related to the accident and your injuries.
Finding Important Documentation
Finally, we will collect the key documents we need to show the facts in the case. Your medical reports and documents showing the wages you could not earn while recovering from your injuries will be key pieces of evidence in determining the fairest possible settlement.
We also need documents that show who owns the property or which party was renting or leasing the property.
Proving Negligence in a Premises Liability Case
You must establish the other party’s negligence in any personal injury case to win your compensation case.. Thus, you must prove the four elements of negligence:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
Duty of care refers to the responsibility to maintain property within certain standards—for instance, ensuring that stair railings are safely affixed and in good repair. A breach of duty occurs when the responsible person neglects their responsibility, such as failing to repair a broken stair railing. Causation is establishing that the breach of duty resulted in your accident. Finally, the injuries you suffered led to damages like medical bills or pain and suffering.
So, suppose a property owner knew of a loose railing and failed to repair it or post a warning notice. Then, while walking down the stairway, you grabbed the banister for support, but it pulled away from the anchor points. Therefore, you could establish the broken railing caused your injuries due to falling down the steps.
Lack of Knowledge Isn’t Necessarily a Defense
If the property owner was unaware of the loose railing prior to the accident, you could still make a case for negligence. Part of a property owner’s duty of care is to maintain safe premises. Failing to inspect a property’s safety features can be considered a breach of duty.
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Compensation Available for a Premises Liability Case
If you suffered an injury on someone’s property due to their negligence, you should not have to sustain the medical debt associated with your injury. Therefore, when you pursue a premises liability case, our premises liability team will fight for the recovery of:
- Medical costs: Including ambulance transport, emergency room treatment, follow-up appointments, medical equipment, medications, diagnostic testing, and all healthcare costs related to your injury.
- Property damage: You can secure reimbursement for damaged items such as a cellphone.
- Lost income: You could recoup wages, vacation time, missed raises and promotions, commissions, bonuses, and retirement contributions for any work you missed while recovering from your injury.
- Pain and suffering: Your attorney can put a monetary value on the physical pain and emotional trauma the accident has caused you.
Our property liability team will evaluate your accident and compile compensation based on the facts and available evidence to support your claim.
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Let Us Help You Prove What Happened in Your Case
If you are wondering what kind of evidence you need to file a premises liability claim, understand that the more evidence you have that proves your side of the story, the stronger your case will be.
One of the key services a premises liability injury lawyer on our team provides for you is investigating the case and collecting the facts that you need to win a settlement or judgment. Police officers might not have received a call after your accident, meaning no police report exists. This shows the importance of having an attorney who can perform the required investigation after the fact.
When you work with our premises liability team, we will guide you throughout the process. We have experience in these cases and will prepare your case professionally and thoroughly.
We Will Start Our Investigation as Soon as You Hire Us
Victims in personal injury cases like this have up to two years to begin filing a case under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. Rather than waiting until the deadline approaches, we recommend that victims contact us as soon as possible after the accident. Once you choose to hire us, we will begin working on your behalf.
The sooner we can begin our investigation, the better chance we will have to find the evidence we need and interview witnesses while they still clearly remember what happened.
Learn More Today With Bader Scott Injury Lawyers
For a free consultation, contact Bader Scott Injury Lawyers as soon as possible. We can let you know your legal options with no obligations. We also offer our clients contingency fees. You pay nothing upfront. We only collect when you recover compensation.
Call or text (404) 888-8888 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
