Evidence checklist
Store accident evidence checklist
A store case often turns on a condition that disappears and records controlled by the business. Spills get cleaned, displays get rebuilt, snow melts, and surveillance may be overwritten. The first evidence task is to identify exactly what existed and ask that relevant records be preserved.
Get needed medical care and report the incident accurately. Do not return to recreate the event, confront employees, or enter restricted areas to collect proof.
Published August 23, 2026 · Last reviewed August 23, 2026
Condition and scene
Useful scene evidence shows the hazard, its location, its dimensions or appearance, and the surrounding context. A close-up alone may not reveal where the condition was or whether it was visible.
- Wide and close photographs: The hazard, aisle or parking area, lighting, signs, displays, floor pattern, weather, entrances, and nearby cameras.
- Exact location and time: Store address, department, aisle, nearby fixture, parking-space number, receipt time, and approximate fall time.
- Shoes and clothing: Preserve them unaltered when their condition may matter; photograph visible liquid, debris, tears, or damage.
Surveillance and notice
Video, inspection logs, cleanup records, and employee communications can show how a condition developed and how long it existed. These records are often retained for limited periods and should be identified precisely in a preservation request.
- Camera locations: Note visible cameras covering the hazard, approach path, entrance, checkout, parking area, and incident response.
- Inspection and cleanup records: Sweep logs, safety checks, spill reports, weather treatment logs, work orders, and employee assignments.
- Prior knowledge: Employee statements, earlier complaints, cones or signs, recurring leaks, damaged fixtures, and prior incidents.
Reports and witnesses
A contemporaneous report fixes basic facts before memories fade. Ask for the report number or manager's name even if the business will not provide a copy immediately.
- Incident report: What you reported, who took it, report number, employees present, and any written or recorded statement.
- Independent witnesses: Names and contact details for customers, vendors, companions, and anyone who saw the condition before the incident.
- Business communications: Emails, texts, claim acknowledgments, insurer letters, and requests for a recorded statement or authorization.
Injury and losses
Medical and wage records establish the injury, treatment, restrictions, and financial effect. Describe the event consistently and correct errors in medical histories or incident reports promptly.
- Medical records: First report of the fall, examination, imaging, diagnoses, treatment, referrals, and restrictions.
- Income proof: Schedules, wage statements, tax records, missed shifts, reduced hours, and employer communications.
- Daily impact: Mobility aids, transportation, household help, sleep disruption, and activities limited during recovery.
A safe preservation rule
Preserve; do not investigate at personal risk. Keep original files and objects, record where they came from, and avoid editing, repairing, washing, testing, returning, or posting them publicly. Do not record private conversations or enter property unless the law and the circumstances permit it.
This checklist is general information. An attorney can identify evidence held by other people, send a targeted preservation demand, and apply the law of the state where the event occurred.
Use the checklist with these guides
Getting the video before it's gone
Footage loops in weeks. A written preservation demand is the only thing that reliably stops it.
Read thisWhat 'notice' actually means
Three ways to prove a store was responsible. Which one you have decides everything.
Read thisWhat these claims are worth
Honest version: this is a lower-value category. Here's what moves the number anyway.
Read thisThe deadlines
The legal deadline is years away. The one that matters is weeks.
Read thisDo not wait for records to disappear
A free review can identify the evidence controlled by a business, employer, platform, provider, or manufacturer and whether a preservation request is warranted.
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