• If there once had been a good reason for the object to be there but that reason no longer exists, could the object have been removed or covered or otherwise made safe?
• Was there a safer place the object could have been located, or could it have been placed in a safer manner, without much greater inconvenience or expense to the property owner or operator?
• Could a simple barrier have been created or a warning been given to prevent people from slipping or tripping?
• Did poor or broken lighting contribute to the accident?

If the answers to one or more of these questions come out in your favor, you may have a good claim for compensation. However, you must still think about whether your own carelessness contributed in any significant way to your accident.

Your Own Carelessness

In almost every slip or trip and fall case, you must decide whether your carelessness contributed to the accident. The rules of "comparative negligence" help measure your own reasonableness in going where you did, in the way you did, just before the accident happened. There are some questions you should ask yourself about your own conduct -- an insurance adjuster will almost certainly ask them after you file your claim.

• Did you have a legitimate reason -- a reason the owner should have anticipated -- for being where the dangerous area was?
• Would a careful person have noticed the dangerous spot and avoided it, or walked carefully enough not to slip or trip?
• Were there any warnings that the spot might be dangerous?
• Were you doing anything that distracted you from paying attention to where you were going, or were you running, jumping, or fooling around in a way that made falling more likely?

Buy it now! The Lawsuit Survival Guide: A Client's Companion to Litigation by Attorney Joseph L. Matthews.

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