A qualified slip and fall lead is someone injured by a hazardous condition on property owned or run by someone else. The fall happened within your firm’s time window and in a place you serve. It was reported or documented, the person has had medical treatment, and they don’t already have a lawyer. Screening should also note the type of property and what caused the fall, since those two facts shape the case more than anything else.
Premises liability is one of the hardest practice areas to screen well. Almost everyone who falls somewhere other than their own home wonders whether they have a claim, and most do not. A fall on its own is not a case. What makes a case is a hazard the owner knew about or should have found, an injury that needed treatment, and enough documentation to prove both. A screening process that only asks “did you fall?” will fill your intake queue with people your attorneys will turn away.
The quickest way to set your own standard is the same as in other practice areas. Look at the slip and fall inquiries your firm declined in recent months and list the reasons. They usually repeat: the fall happened at a friend’s house, nobody reported it, the person never saw a doctor, or the hazard was something any careful person would have seen. Each of those reasons is a screening question.
Common slip and fall screening dimensions
Incident date and location
When and where the fall happened comes first. The date has to fall within your state’s limitations period. Many firms also prefer recent incidents, because surveillance footage is often overwritten within days or weeks. The location decides which law applies and whether your firm can take the case, so record the county as well as the state.
Type of property and who controls it
A fall in a grocery store, a restaurant, an apartment complex, a parking lot, a hotel, or on a public sidewalk each leads to a different case. Commercial businesses usually carry liability insurance and keep incident reports. Private homes may involve a homeowner’s policy and a claimant who knows the owner personally. Government property often has short notice deadlines and limits on recovery. Screening for property type and the business or owner’s name lets intake flag cases for priority review and run conflicts early.
What caused the fall
Ask what the person slipped or tripped on: a spill, a wet floor with no warning sign, broken pavement, poor lighting, a loose handrail, ice, or debris. The kind of hazard often decides the key legal question, which is whether the owner knew about it or should have found it and fixed it. A hazard that existed for a long time, or that the owner caused, is usually stronger than one that appeared moments before the fall.
Reporting, photos, and witnesses
Whether the fall was reported to the property owner or manager is one of the most useful screening questions. So is whether an incident report exists, whether the person took photos of the hazard, and whether anyone saw it happen. Premises cases are won or lost on evidence, and a claimant who reported the fall right away and photographed the scene is far easier to evaluate than one who went home and said nothing.
Injury and medical treatment
Ask whether the person was hurt, what the injury was, and whether they have had treatment, where, and when. Delayed treatment is common after falls, because people often expect the pain to pass. It is also one of the first things an insurer will question. Many firms make treatment a hard requirement and treat fractures, surgery, or head injuries as priority signals.
Current representation and contact verification
Whether a lawyer is already involved is normally a hard disqualifier. Checking the phone number by SMS before delivery makes sure your team can reach the person at all.
Falls at work belong in a different queue
A fall that happened on the job is usually a workers’ compensation matter, not a premises liability claim against the employer. Screening should ask whether the person was working when they fell. It should route those leads to your workers’ compensation team, or leave them out of a premises campaign. Falls at work on property owned by someone other than the employer can involve both kinds of claim, and are worth flagging for an attorney.
Hard criteria vs. preferences
Some criteria are real thresholds. Someone who fell at their own home generally has no premises claim. Someone who already has a lawyer is not available to your firm. Others are preferences: a minimum injury level, excluding residential property, or requiring that an incident report exists. Keep the two lists apart. If every preference becomes a threshold, volume disappears and each remaining lead gets expensive. Written separately, both lists give your firm and your vendor a clear basis for adjusting the campaign.
State law matters here too
Premises liability rules vary by state. That includes how the owner’s knowledge of a hazard must be proven, how comparative fault reduces recovery, and how long a claimant has to file. Florida is a clear example. Section 768.0755 of the Florida Statutes requires a person injured by a transitory substance in a business to prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition. HB 837 also moved Florida to modified comparative negligence and generally shortened the negligence limitations period to two years. Screening in Florida should reflect all three.
This article is general information for law firms and is not legal advice. See our slip and fall lead program for how these criteria are applied in live campaigns.
Frequently asked questions
Is every slip and fall a valid claim?
No. Most falls do not lead to a viable premises claim. A claim generally requires a dangerous condition the owner knew about or should have found, an injury, and proof of both. Screening exists to separate those cases from the rest.
Should slip and fall leads require an incident report?
Many firms treat an incident report as a strong signal rather than a hard requirement, since some valid claims have none. Photos, witnesses, and prompt medical treatment can help establish the same facts.
What about falls on government property?
Claims against government entities often have much shorter notice deadlines and may limit recovery. Screening should flag them so an attorney can review the timing quickly.
Written by the IronFlow Advertising team
IronFlow Advertising builds exclusive lead generation campaigns for law firms, lenders, insurance agencies, and home service companies. Questions about anything in this article? Call (251) 233-4916 or send us a note.