Vident Partners provides vetted slip and fall expert witnesses for cases involving walkway slip resistance, wet and contaminated flooring, transition and ramp hazards, inadequate maintenance, and ASTM friction-testing disputes in commercial and public premises nationwide. Request a referral today.
Find a Slip & Fall Expert →Overview
Slip and fall experts evaluate the safety of walking surfaces, including coefficient of friction, surface transitions, lighting, and maintenance practices, to determine whether a dangerous condition contributed to a fall 1. Attorneys retain them to perform on-site slip-resistance testing under recognized ASTM methods such as ASTM F2508, which governs the validation of walkway tribometers using research-based reference materials 2, and to assess compliance with ASTM F1637, the standard practice for safe walking surfaces in buildings 3. These experts examine maintenance logs, incident history, and environmental conditions to opine on causation and the foreseeability of the fall. Qualifications such as the NFSI Walkway Auditor Certificate Holder (WACH) designation reflect training in the B101 series of slip-resistance standards 4.
ASTM F2508-23 establishes the validation procedure for walkway tribometers using reference materials with known relative slip potential ranging from high to low, as determined by human walking trials.
Case Types
Wet or contaminated retail and grocery floor falls
Inadequate slip resistance on tile, stone, or polished surfaces
Hazardous transitions between flooring materials or elevations
Falls caused by deficient lighting or obscured hazards
Inadequate inspection, cleaning, or maintenance program claims
Qualifications
Related Specialties
FAQ
A slip and fall expert should have an engineering, safety, or architecture background and training in recognized walkway slip-resistance test methods such as ASTM F2508. Hands-on experience conducting on-site friction testing and hazard inspections, along with prior testimony experience, is essential.
These experts are retained in cases involving falls on wet, contaminated, or low-friction surfaces, hazardous floor transitions, poor lighting, and deficient maintenance programs in retail, commercial, and public spaces. They help establish whether a dangerous condition existed and whether the owner should have addressed it.
In general, expert fees are determined by the expert themselves, based on a variety of criteria. Among those criteria are professional experience, forensic and testimony experience, relevant certifications, case-type specialization, and publications. Vident does have some influence over expert fees by comparing experts within a specialty, but ultimately it is a personal decision by the expert.
Sources
Vident Partners connects attorneys with qualified slip & fall expert witnesses. Complimentary consultation, 24-hour turnaround, no obligation.
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