Slip and Fall Attorney

Right AwayWhat to Do After a Slip and Fall in Puyallup

1. Get medical care. Even if the injury seems minor, get evaluated — many soft-tissue injuries and concussions aren't fully apparent immediately, and the medical record documents the timing of the injury.
2. Report the incident. Notify the property owner or manager before leaving and request a copy of the incident report.
3. Photograph everything — the hazard, your injuries, the lighting, and the surrounding conditions — before the property owner can clean it up or fix it.
4. Get witness information — other customers, employees, or bystanders who saw what happened.
5. Don't post about it on social media. Insurers and defense attorneys use posts to dispute injury severity.
6. Contact an attorney before giving any statement to the property's insurer — especially if the fall occurred on government property, which triggers a separate procedural requirement.

This page provides general information about Washington law and is not legal advice. The rules that apply depend on the specific facts of your situation; contact us to discuss your case.

Proving FaultWhat Makes a Property Owner Legally Responsible

Not every fall on someone else's property creates legal liability. Washington premises liability law requires showing the property owner knew or should have known about the hazardous condition and failed to fix it or warn about it.

• Wet floors without warning signs, without a recent cleaning log, or in a location where spills are foreseeable.
• Icy or wet sidewalks and entryways — Puyallup's wet season (fall through spring) creates recurring rain-slicked surfaces at retail entryways and parking lots along the Meridian Ave corridor. A property owner who doesn't address foreseeable wet-weather hazards may be liable.
• Uneven pavement, potholes, and broken surfaces in parking lots that the owner knew about but didn't repair.
• Poor lighting that obscures a hazard in a stairwell, parking garage, or pathway.
• Missing or broken handrails on stairs or ramps.

Critical DifferenceFalls on Government Property Require a Notice Step

This is the procedural fact that trips up most slip-and-fall claimants — and it can permanently bar a valid claim if missed.

A fall on private commercial property — a grocery store, a shopping center, a restaurant — follows the standard negligence litigation path with no pre-suit notice requirement. The two paths are procedurally different, and the right approach depends on who owns the property where you fell.

Washington LawDeadlines & Partial Fault

We handle slip and fall cases on a contingency-fee basis — no attorney fee upfront, a fee only if we recover for you. You work directly with Rob Lloyd and Tim Greene throughout.

Be HonestWhen You May Not Need a Slip and Fall Attorney

We'll tell you plainly: a fall with no injury, or one that required only minor first aid and fully resolved with no lasting symptoms and no property defect involved, likely doesn't need legal representation. If there's no dispute about what happened, no medical bills, and no lasting impact, a standard incident report may be all that's needed.

It becomes a legal matter when there is a meaningful injury, medical bills or lost work time, disputed liability, an insurer pushing back, or — especially — a fall on government property where the notice step matters immediately. A free consultation costs nothing and takes that uncertainty off the table.