Slip and fall attorney help in Fort Wayne: ice, rain, wet floors and stairs

Personal Injury Attorney Fort Wayne is a free attorney referral service, not a law firm. The referral line connects you with a participating independent attorney’s office, and the A to Z directory lists Fort Wayne firms whose own websites name slip and fall or premises liability work. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Where slips and trips happen

Falls happen in ordinary places, which is part of why people second-guess themselves afterward. The places people describe most often include:

• Stores and restaurants: spilled drinks, produce on the floor, tracked-in water near the doors, cords across an aisle.
• Parking lots and walkways: ice that was never treated, potholes, broken curbs, poor lighting.
• Stairs: loose or broken treads, missing handrails, uneven steps.
• Apartments and rentals: common hallways, outdoor steps, laundry rooms.
• Workplaces: wet floors, ladders, loading docks. A fall at work generally runs through workers’ comp; see the Fort Wayne workers’ comp lawyer guide.
• Public property: city sidewalks, government buildings, parks. These follow special notice rules, covered below.

Whether a property owner or business is responsible for a fall depends on the facts: what the hazard was, how long it was there, whether anyone knew about it, and what the injured person was doing. That is exactly what a lawyer looks at, and why the details you save in the first days matter so much.

What to do right after a slip, in snow, ice or rain

1. Get checked by a doctor. Head, hip, wrist and back injuries can be worse than they feel at first. A record made soon after the fall ties the injury to the day.
2. Photograph the spot before it changes. Ice gets salted, spills get mopped and broken steps get fixed. Take wide shots and close-ups, and include something that shows the size of the hazard.
3. Report it on the spot. Tell the manager, landlord or property owner, and ask them to write an incident report. Ask for a copy or at least the name of the person who took it.
4. Get witness names and numbers. Customers and staff who saw it can be hard to find later.
5. Keep your shoes and clothes as they were, in a bag. They can show what you were wearing and any marks from the fall.
6. Save receipts and records: a store receipt shows you were there, and medical bills show what the injury cost.

Ask whether there are security cameras, and write down where they are. Footage may be recorded over, so a lawyer may want to ask for it quickly.

The two-year rule and the shorter deadline for public property

Indiana law generally allows two years to start a lawsuit for an injury to a person, counted from when the claim arises, under Indiana Code 34-11-2-4. For an injured child, Indiana generally allows extra time counted from age 18.

Falls on public property are different. If the fall happened on property of a city, town or county, or because of something a public employee did, Indiana generally requires a written tort claim notice filed with that government body within 180 days after the loss. For the State of Indiana, the notice goes to the attorney general or the state agency involved within 270 days. Without a timely notice, the claim is generally barred.

The notice is not a casual email. Indiana law says it must give a short, plain statement of the facts, including what happened, the extent of the loss, the time and place, the names of everyone involved if known, the amount of damages sought and the claimant’s residence. The full rules are in Indiana Code 34-13-3, and our article on the Indiana tort claim notice explains them step by step.

Shared blame after a slip or trip

Insurers for stores and property owners often point to the injured person: you should have watched where you were going, the hazard was obvious, your shoes were wrong for the weather. Indiana generally handles shared blame with modified comparative fault. If the injured person is found 50 percent or less at fault, any recovery is generally reduced by that share. At 51 percent or more, recovery is generally barred.

Claims against a government unit follow different fault rules, one more reason a fall on public property needs early advice. Every fall is different, and a licensed Indiana attorney can explain how fault might be weighed in yours.

Talking with the property owner’s insurer

After a fall at a business, an insurance adjuster may call within days. They may be friendly and ask for a recorded statement or a medical records release. You can be polite and still take your time:

• You can ask for the adjuster’s name, company and claim number, and say you will call back.
• You can decline a recorded statement until you have spoken with a lawyer.
• Be careful with broad medical releases that reach back years.
• Do not guess about your injuries or say you are fine before a doctor has seen you.

Indiana also has a rule about payments you already received from other sources, such as some insurance benefits: in a personal injury case the court generally allows evidence of them, so that the same loss is not paid twice. Life insurance, insurance you or your family paid for directly, and government payments are treated differently.

What a premises injury attorney looks at

Every firm has its own approach, but the first conversation tends to cover the same ground:

• Where exactly you fell, who owns or runs the place, and whether it is public property.
• What the hazard was and how long it may have been there.
• Whether anyone reported it, and whether there are photos, video or witnesses.
• Your injuries, the care you received and what you missed at work.
• What the insurer has said so far, and what you have signed.

In Indiana, a contingency fee agreement must be in writing and signed by you, and it must explain how the fee and expenses are figured. Ask any lawyer to walk you through the percentage and the costs before you sign. Our list of questions to ask an injury lawyer can help.

Finding a slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne after ice, rain or a wet floor

You can call the free referral line to reach the intake team of a participating independent attorney’s office; calls may be recorded and the office should tell you its name. Or you can choose a firm yourself: the directory of Fort Wayne personal injury law firms lists each firm’s own address, phone and website, A to Z, and several list slip and fall or premises liability. If a lawsuit is filed, it would generally go to the Allen Circuit Court or the Allen Superior Court.

Hurt in a dog attack instead? See the dog bite guide. Lost a family member after an accident on someone’s property? The wrongful death guide explains who may bring a claim.

Questions people ask