Florida Slip and Fall Claims: What Evidence Should You Preserve?

Tell a manager, property owner, employee, security officer, landlord, or other responsible person that a fall occurred. Ask that an incident report be created and make sure the report identifies the correct date, time, and location. If the report is written by someone else, request a copy or ask how it can be obtained later. Describe what you directly observed. Avoid guessing about how long the condition existed or who caused it. If you are in too much pain to complete a report, ask a family member or witness to obtain the name and contact information of the person who received notice.

Close-up photographs can show the substance, defect, or object involved, but wide photographs are also important. They can show where the condition was located in relation to aisles, entrances, stairs, displays, lighting, warning cones, mats, cameras, and nearby employees.

• The exact area where the fall occurred;

• Water, liquid, grease, food, debris, cords, merchandise, or another substance;

• Cracks, broken flooring, uneven pavement, loose mats, missing handrails, or damaged steps;

• Footprints, cart tracks, dirt, drying patterns, or other marks that may indicate the condition was present for some time;

• The absence or placement of warning signs and barriers;

• Lighting, weather, visibility, and surrounding traffic; and

• Visible injuries and damaged personal property, when they can be documented respectfully.

Do not recreate the event, move the hazard, or place yourself in danger to obtain a better image. Preserve original files with their date and time information instead of editing or posting them online.

A witness may have seen the condition before the fall, the incident itself, an employee walking past the area, a prior cleanup attempt, or a statement made immediately afterward. Obtain names, telephone numbers, and email addresses when possible. Also write down the names or descriptions of employees who responded. Uniforms, name tags, work stations, and shift information may help identify people later if names are not available at the scene.

Shoes can become important when traction, wear, or contamination is disputed. Place the shoes in a safe location and avoid cleaning, repairing, or discarding them. Preserve clothing if it contains residue, tears, or stains connected to the incident. Keep receipts or photographs showing when the shoes were obtained if that information is available. The goal is not to prove that a particular item caused or prevented the fall. It is to keep the condition of potentially relevant evidence from changing before it can be evaluated.

Falls can affect the head, neck, back, shoulders, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. Some symptoms are immediate, while others develop after swelling or adrenaline subsides. Tell medical providers how the fall happened and report all symptoms accurately. Keep discharge instructions, referrals, prescriptions, imaging reports, bills, and appointment records. If work restrictions or activity limits are given, request written documentation. Following reasonable medical recommendations can support recovery and create a clearer timeline.

Receipts, loyalty account records, parking records, appointment confirmations, delivery logs, and phone location history may help establish when and why a person was on the property. Save these materials before accounts are deleted or paper receipts are lost. For a residential or rental property, preserve the lease, repair requests, text messages, emails, photographs, and prior complaints concerning the same area.

Many stores, apartment buildings, hotels, parking areas, and businesses use video systems that automatically overwrite recordings. Relevant footage may include the fall, the condition before the fall, employee inspections, cleanup activity, and the route taken by the injured person. A written preservation request may identify the date, time range, location, cameras, incident report, and categories of records that should not be destroyed. Depending on the claim, other electronic evidence may include digital inspection logs, employee messages, work orders, photographs taken by staff, and sensor or alarm records.

The property owner or business may possess schedules, inspection logs, cleaning records, repair requests, vendor invoices, prior incident reports, and employee training materials. These documents can help answer whether the condition was discovered, reported, recurring, or left uncorrected. An injured person usually does not have direct access to these records at the scene. Identifying the location precisely and acting promptly can make a later request more focused.

Florida Statute 768.0755 addresses falls on transitory foreign substances in business establishments. It requires the injured person to prove that the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to remedy it. Constructive knowledge may be supported by circumstantial evidence that the condition existed long enough that the business should have known about it, or that the condition occurred with regularity and was therefore foreseeable. That is why the appearance of the condition, tracks through a spill, recurring leaks, employee proximity, inspection practices, video, and witness observations can matter. Not every premises claim involves a transitory substance, and the applicable legal standard must be evaluated from the actual facts.

An insurer or claims administrator may ask for a recorded statement, broad medical authorization, or quick settlement. Provide necessary notice, but do not guess about facts or sign a release you do not understand. The full medical course and the availability of evidence may not be clear immediately. Florida also applies comparative fault rules in many negligence cases. Under current law, a party found more than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm generally may not recover damages in a covered negligence action, while a lower percentage of fault can reduce a recovery. Because fault arguments can focus on footwear, warning signs, lighting, distractions, and where a person was looking, preserving objective evidence is important.

Maintain one folder for incident materials, photographs, medical records, bills, prescription expenses, transportation costs, damaged property, insurance correspondence, and proof of missed work. A brief daily record of pain, sleep disruption, mobility limits, appointments, and activities that could not be performed may help preserve details over time. Do not exaggerate or create a record for litigation. A simple, accurate timeline is more useful than broad statements written from memory months later.

Florida law generally provides a two-year limitations period for negligence actions, but the correct deadline can depend on the incident date, defendant, legal theory, and special circumstances. Claims involving public property or government entities may require earlier written notice and additional procedures. The practical evidence deadline can be much shorter than the filing deadline. Video may be overwritten within days or weeks, employees may change jobs, and the condition may be repaired. Prompt investigation can therefore matter even when the final legal deadline is not near.

Bring whatever is available, even if the file is incomplete. Helpful materials may include:

• Photographs and original video files;

• The incident report or report number;

• Receipts or other proof of presence;

• Witness and employee contact information;

• The shoes and clothing worn during the fall;

• Medical discharge papers and appointment information;

• Insurance correspondence; and

• Proof of missed work and out-of-pocket expenses.

Do not delay asking questions simply because a manager refused to provide video or an incident report. Those records may require a formal request.