Evidence checklist
Roof fall evidence checklist
A roof-fall claim is reconstructed from records that often belong to several companies. The general contractor may have the daily log, a subcontractor may own the harness, the property owner may hold the contract, and a worker may have the only photograph of the opening or edge.
Preserve what already exists. Do not enter an unsafe site, remove equipment without permission, or delay medical care to gather proof. An attorney can send preservation demands and identify records you cannot obtain yourself.
Published August 23, 2026 · Last reviewed August 23, 2026
Scene and height evidence
Photographs, measurements, and job records can establish the elevation hazard and the protection that was present or missing. Capture the condition from a safe place and keep original files with their metadata.
- Exact fall location: Address, roof level, access point, edge, opening, skylight, scaffold, or ladder position.
- Original photos and video: Wide views and close details of the surface, weather, debris, anchors, guardrails, openings, and landing area.
- Work sequence: What task was underway, who directed it, and what happened immediately before and after the fall.
Equipment and safety records
The equipment itself and the records showing who selected, inspected, and controlled it can matter as much as a witness account. Ask that relevant items be preserved rather than altered or put back into service.
- Fall-protection equipment: Harness, lanyard, lifeline, anchor, guardrail components, ladder, scaffold, or lift identifiers and condition.
- Training and inspection records: Toolbox talks, competent-person inspections, equipment logs, and written fall-protection plans.
- OSHA and incident records: Employer incident report, OSHA inspection or citation material, emergency response records, and site safety reports.
Companies and contracts
Workers' compensation and a third-party claim are different paths. Contracts and site-control records help identify whether an owner, general contractor, equipment company, or another trade had responsibility outside the injured worker's employer.
- Every company on site: Employer, general contractor, property owner, safety consultant, equipment lessor, and other trades nearby.
- Contracts and permits: Project contracts, scopes of work, permits, daily logs, and documents showing who controlled the work area.
- Employment records: Pay stubs, schedules, union records, supervisor messages, workers' compensation claim number, and wage history.
Injury and loss records
Consistent medical documentation connects the fall to the injuries and shows how recovery develops. Keep complete records of treatment, restrictions, work loss, and help needed at home.
- Medical timeline: Emergency care, imaging, surgery, rehabilitation, symptoms, diagnoses, and written work restrictions.
- Income loss: Pre-injury earnings, missed work, reduced hours, lost benefits, and changed job duties.
- Daily impact: Mobility limits, sleep problems, household help, transportation needs, and activities the injury prevents.
A safe preservation rule
Preserve; do not investigate at personal risk. Keep original files and objects, record where they came from, and avoid editing, repairing, washing, testing, returning, or posting them publicly. Do not record private conversations or enter property unless the law and the circumstances permit it.
This checklist is general information. An attorney can identify evidence held by other people, send a targeted preservation demand, and apply the law of the state where the event occurred.
Use the checklist with these guides
Comp vs. the third-party claim
Two claims, two clocks, two very different numbers. The one people miss is the bigger one.
Read thisOSHA after a fall
OSHA won't pay you a dollar. Its file is still one of the most useful documents in the case.
Read thisWhat these cases are worth
No honest answer is a number. Here's what actually moves it, and what doesn't.
Read thisThe deadlines
Four separate clocks. The shortest one can be as little as 30 days.
Read thisDo not wait for records to disappear
A free review can identify the evidence controlled by a business, employer, platform, provider, or manufacturer and whether a preservation request is warranted.
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