Medical records, photos, accident reports, and witness statements serve as valuable evidence following a slip-and-fall accident and may help people in Nevada prove liability for their injuries. When dangerous property conditions contribute to trips, slips, and falls, the property owners may bear liability for the resulting injuries.
Proving Property Owners’ Liability
Under Nevada law, property owners owe a duty of care to guard or warn patrons or visitors they invite or allow on their premises against any dangerous conditions on the property. To show they breached this duty, which resulted in a slip-and-fall accident that caused injuries, victims must prove:
- They were permitted entrance on or use of the premises
- The defendants were in control or were the owners of the property
- A dangerous condition existed on the property
Additionally, those seeking compensation for slip-and-fall injuries must prove the defendant knew about the dangerous condition, or reasonably should have, and that their injuries were suffered as a direct result of the dangerous condition. Evidence such as medical records, accident reports, photographs, and witness statements may aid in proving these claims.
Medical Records
Medical records and bills are essential for helping prove that harm occurred and that the injury was a result of the accident. Beyond billing invoices, this may include keeping doctor’s office notes, procedure reports, and laboratory reports. Such documentation may aid in establishing a timeline of when the injuries happened and the duration of their effects. It may also assist with calculating the associated economic damages.
Accident Reports and Photographs
Accident reports and photographs may prove helpful in detailing what happened, showing dangerous property conditions existed, and that people suffered injuries on a property. Additionally, accident reports may provide the names and information for the parties involved and any witnesses.
Taking photographs of the area as soon as possible after the slip-and-fall accident occurred may help prove the dangerous property condition existed at the time of the injury. This may be helpful in cases when property owners attempt to remedy the dangers following the accident to avoid liability.
Witness Statements
Witnesses may provide another voice to detail what happened in slip-and-fall claims. Witness statements may help disprove false claims that place blame on the accident victims, and expert witnesses may explain the unsafe nature of the conditions and the types of safety measures that could have prevented the slip-and-fall accident.
