Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Slip-and-Fall Scene Documentation Across Tennessee
A prompt, neutral record of the floor, the lighting, the warnings and the surroundings at the spot where someone fell. Prepared for adjusters, attorneys, businesses and injured people who need the scene captured before the next mop pass or shift change.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A slip-and-fall scene can change faster than almost any other kind of claim scene. A spill is mopped within minutes. A wet floor sign is set out afterward. A curled mat is straightened or thrown away. By the time a claim is opened, the walking surface is usually clean and dry, and the questions that remain are about the flooring itself, the lighting, the layout and what cameras might have recorded.
Delator Claims Division documents those remaining facts in detail and, when called early enough, the hazard itself. Photographs are taken from standing height and again at footwear level, close to the floor, where sheen, residue, mat edges and changes in elevation show up clearly. Field personnel record what they see. They do not test or rate slip resistance, do not give an opinion on why a person fell, and do not assign fault.
Common reasons a fall scene gets documented
- A customer falls near a grocery produce case or beverage cooler and the store wants the floor photographed before the area is cleaned.
- An injured person's family can return to the store the same day and needs the aisle, signage and floor documented by a neutral party.
- A restaurant guest falls at the transition between tile and a kitchen entry, and the mat layout is expected to change.
- Rain is being tracked into a lobby and a fall occurs before entry mats, umbrella bags or caution signs are put out.
- An adjuster needs to know how long the store's cameras retain footage and which ones point toward the aisle in question.
What the investigator records at floor level and above
- Floor surface and finish
- Flooring material, finish, wear patterns, grout lines and any visible sheen, moisture or residue, photographed under the store's own lighting and with oblique light.
- Footwear-level views
- Low-angle photographs taken a few inches above the floor along the direction of travel, showing lips, curled edges, puddling and glare as they appear near the ground.
- The substance or object involved
- If still present, the spill or object, its size against a scale, its apparent source such as a cooler, display or ceiling, and any track marks or footprints through it.
- Warning signs and cones
- Where each wet floor sign, cone or barrier stands, its distance from the fall location, and whether it is visible from the approach used by the person who fell.
- Mats, transitions and changes in level
- Mat placement and condition, backing type, edge height, thresholds and flooring transitions, with height differences measured and photographed against a ruler.
- Cleanup timing and posted logs
- Posted sweep logs, restroom check sheets or cleaning schedules that are displayed publicly, plus the observed time between a hazard being reported and it being cleaned.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
The first hour and what is left afterward
The substance on the floor is the most perishable evidence in the claim. Employees are trained to clean a spill at once, and they should. When Delator is called while the hazard is still present, the investigator photographs it before cleanup, records the time, and notes how and when the area is cleaned and by whom, if that can be observed. Emergency deployment exists for this situation, and response in metro areas averages under 60 minutes.
More often the call comes later. The floor is dry, and the documentation shifts to what does not change overnight: the flooring type, the slope toward a drain, the location of coolers, ice machines, drink stations and entry doors, the lighting overhead, and the camera domes on the ceiling. Footwear is sometimes part of the record as well. If the person who fell still has the shoes, the soles and tread can be photographed at the requester's direction.
What is usually disputed in a fall claim
The disagreement is usually about time and visibility. One side asks how long the substance was on the floor and whether anyone had a chance to find it. The other asks whether it could be seen by a person walking normally. Physical documentation informs both questions without answering them. Track marks, dried edges, dirt in a spill, the position of a sign and the contrast between the substance and the floor are all recorded as observed.
Because Tennessee applies modified comparative fault, both the condition of the floor and the actions of the person who fell may be examined. Adjusters and attorneys use the photo set, measurements and camera canvass to decide what else they need, such as store video, sweep logs or an expert evaluation of the flooring. Delator supplies the factual record only. For injured individuals and their counsel it is neutral documentation, and no advice about the claim is given.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
Do you measure how slippery the floor is?
No. Slip resistance testing is specialized work performed by qualified experts with calibrated equipment, and Delator Claims Division does not perform it or offer opinions on it. We document the flooring, its visible condition and the surroundings so an expert has an accurate record of the scene to start from.
The store will not let anyone take photographs. What then?
A business can restrict photography on its property, and we respect that. The notes record the refusal, and we document what is visible from public areas. An attorney or adjuster may be able to arrange access through their own channels, and we can return once permission is in place.
Can you get the store's surveillance video?
We identify which cameras appear to cover the area, ask who controls the system and whether footage of the date exists, and report the answers. We cannot require a business to release video. The requesting party uses that information to make its own request.
Is it worth documenting a fall scene weeks later?
Often, yes. Flooring, layout, lighting, drains, equipment locations and camera positions tend to stay the same for long periods. The report states the date of the visit and does not suggest the scene matches the day of the fall where it may not.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.