Proving Injury from an Elevator or Escalator

You know that you’ve been injured in an elevator or an escalator – but that doesn’t automatically entitle you to compensation. Before you can recover damages for these injuries, there are a few things that you need to prove. Unfortunately, your word is not enough in this situation. But here, you can find information on how to prove your injuries so that you can get the compensation that you deserve.

Proving Injuries

The first step in a personal injury claim is proving that you sustained an injury. The best way to do this is by going to a doctor and obtaining a copy of your medical report. For example, if your arm was caught in an elevator door, you need a professional (a doctor) to say that you indeed sustained trauma to your arm. This might be bruises, scrapes, or even a broken arm or torn ligament.

A doctor can create a report legitimizing the injuries that you claim. You can’t just show up to court in a sling and claim that you broke your arm – again, the court won’t take your word for it. But a doctor’s report is something that can’t be ignored. So, going to see a doctor as soon as possible after you sustain an injury will be helpful in proving your injuries.

Another thing that you can do to document your injuries is take photographs of them after they happen. If you have visible injuries such as bruises or cuts, take photographs of them. You can use these photographs as evidence in a personal injury case.

In addition to proving an injury in general, you must connect the injury to your accident. So, in the above example, if your arm got caught in an elevator door, you can’t try to get compensation to an injury to your leg or another body part. You have to be specific about the accident and the injuries that resulted from the accident.

Proving Fault

I have touched on this on other pages, but proving that you sustained an injury is not enough to get compensation. This is because the injury could have been your own fault. For example, if you were “playing chicken” with the elevator doors and they closed on your arm, your injuries are a result of your carelessness. You have to prove that there was some type of malfunction with the elevator that someone else is responsible for. Determine what type of malfunction occurred and who is responsible for it (for example, defective equipment is the result of the manufacturer, maintenance issues are the result of the owner, etc.). Before the court, you will have to prove why a certain person is at fault for the malfunction as well as your subsequent injuries.

Getting Help

It can be frustrating to deal with an injury and also have to prove it to other people. You are hurting both physically and emotionally, and the last thing you want to do is convince someone else of these facts. I understand that this is a difficult time for you and your family, and I want to help in any way I can. Contact my office today to take some of the pressure off of yourself. You focus on getting better – I’ll focus on proving your case. Together, we can find a solution to help you get the justice that you deserve.