Short Answer

Preserve surveillance footage, photographs of the doors, incident records, witness information, maintenance and inspection records, medical documentation, and anything showing your spouse’s condition before and after the fall. Act quickly because video may be overwritten and the doors may be adjusted or repaired. A written preservation notice should identify the exact location, date, approximate time, and evidence that must not be altered or destroyed.

Start With Evidence That Could Disappear

An automatic-door injury claim may depend on evidence controlled by the medical facility, building owner, property manager, or door service company. You may not be able to obtain all of that material immediately, but you can ask the appropriate parties to preserve it.

Send a written notice as soon as possible that identifies your spouse, the date and approximate time of the incident, the specific entrance or exit, and how the doors allegedly moved. Ask that potentially relevant evidence be preserved even if ordinary business policies would otherwise permit its deletion.

The preservation request should cover:

• Surveillance video showing the doorway, nearby halls, reception area, parking approach, and events before and after the fall.
• Original video files, including all available camera angles and associated date-and-time information.
• Automatic-door inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, and service records.
• Work orders, technician notes, invoices, warranties, and records identifying the door manufacturer and installer.
• Electronic fault codes, sensor logs, controller data, and records of adjustments or resets, if such information exists.
• Complaints, reports, or service calls involving the same doors before the incident.
• The facility’s incident report and related photographs, witness statements, emails, internal messages, and notifications.
• Records showing who owned, operated, inspected, and maintained the doors on the incident date.
• The doors and their components in their condition at the time of the event, to the extent reasonably possible.

A preservation notice is not the same as obtaining the evidence. The facility may not voluntarily provide internal records, and sending a request does not guarantee that every item exists. Its immediate purpose is to place the relevant parties on notice that the material may matter to a potential North Carolina personal injury claim.

Photograph and Document the Doorway

If the location can be visited lawfully and without interfering with facility operations, take clear photographs or video of the doorway. Do not test, block, touch, or alter the doors. Conditions may have changed, so record the date of the visit and avoid presenting later images as if they show the doors’ condition on the incident date.

Useful images may show:

• The full entrance and exit from both sides.
• The hinged door panels and direction in which they move.
• Motion and presence sensors.
• Warning labels, activation buttons, signs, mats, thresholds, and nearby obstructions.
• The path your spouse used when leaving.
• Any visible manufacturer, model, inspection, or service labels.
• The location of security cameras and potential witnesses.

Keep original digital files rather than only screenshots or edited copies. Original files may contain useful creation dates and other identifying information. Save backup copies in a secure location.

Record What Happened While Memories Are Fresh

As soon as your spouse is able, write down their recollection in their own words. Do not guess or fill in details they do not remember. The account should address where they were positioned, whether the doors had opened, which part of the door made contact, how quickly it moved, where they landed, and what happened immediately afterward.

Also record whether anyone offered help, identified themselves as an employee, mentioned a prior door problem, took photographs, or said that building management had been notified. Note the approximate time because that information can help locate video, employee schedules, appointment records, and service logs.

Collect the names and contact information of anyone who saw the doors close, witnessed the fall, helped your spouse afterward, or heard a relevant statement. A witness who observed the door’s movement may be particularly important because a photograph taken later cannot show exactly how the system operated at the time.

Preserve Physical Items and Medical Documentation

Keep the cane, shoes, clothing, and personal items your spouse had at the time. Do not repair, clean, discard, or alter an item if it was damaged or may help explain the fall. Photograph each item and store it safely.

Save medical records and documents from the emergency response, hospital treatment, surgery, and rehabilitation stay. Useful materials commonly include:

• Discharge instructions, visit summaries, imaging reports, and operative records.
• Medical bills, insurance explanations, and receipts for injury-related expenses.
• Rehabilitation records and provider restrictions.
• A current list of medications and assistive devices documented by providers.
• A simple record of symptoms, physical limitations, and assistance needed after the incident.

Because your spouse recently recovered from an earlier fall and hip surgery, preserve the earlier records as well. Records showing the prior injury, recovery, use of a cane, functional abilities, and condition immediately before this event may help separate preexisting problems from new harm. A prior condition does not by itself decide the claim, but incomplete records can make causation harder to evaluate.

Why Maintenance and Notice Evidence Matters Under North Carolina Law

North Carolina premises liability generally asks whether a responsible party failed to use reasonable care for a lawful visitor’s safety. In an automatic-door case, relevant questions may include whether the system was reasonably inspected and maintained, whether a defect should have been found, and whether anyone had received earlier complaints or warnings.

Responsibility may be divided among several entities. The medical practice may occupy the building while a separate company owns or manages it. Another business may have installed, inspected, or serviced the doors. Preserve documents that identify each entity rather than assuming the medical provider controlled the doorway.

North Carolina also allows contributory negligence as a defense. If the defense proves that the injured person’s own negligence helped cause the injury, it can create serious problems for the claim. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-139, the party raising that defense generally has the burden of proving it. Evidence should therefore show both how the doors operated and how your spouse approached and moved through the doorway, including their use of a cane.

How This Applies to the Reported Door Incident

The key evidence would likely include video of your spouse leaving the physical therapy appointment, records showing the doors’ timing and sensor operation, recent inspection or repair documents, and any earlier complaints about unexpected closing. Appointment and checkout records may help establish the time window if no one recorded the exact time.

Your spouse’s recent recovery makes before-and-after evidence especially important. Physical therapy notes from shortly before the incident may document mobility, cane use, progress, and functional limits. Hospital, surgery, and rehabilitation records can then document what changed after the doors allegedly knocked your spouse down.

If someone said building management had been notified, write down who made that statement, the words used as accurately as possible, and when and where it was said. Do not assume that an incident report was completed merely because management may have received notice. A written request can ask the facility to preserve any report, communications, and related records without claiming that those materials necessarily exist.

Do Not Wait for the Facility to Make Contact

Many North Carolina personal injury actions are governed by a three-year filing period under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52, although the correct deadline depends on the parties and legal theory. A government-owned or operated facility may involve a different procedure or forum that must be identified promptly.

Conversations with building management or an insurance representative do not automatically extend the time to file a lawsuit or other required claim. More immediately, surveillance footage and electronic door data may disappear long before a legal deadline arrives. Evidence preservation should begin even if no representative has contacted the family.

When Wallace Pierce Law May Be Able to Help

Wallace Pierce Law may be able to help identify the facility owner, operator, property manager, and door maintenance company; prepare targeted preservation notices; seek available video and incident information; and organize medical evidence concerning the earlier hip condition and the new injury.

The firm may also evaluate whether inspection records, service history, witness accounts, or door-system testing could help explain what occurred. The available evidence, ownership structure, condition of the doors, and North Carolina defenses will affect what steps are appropriate. No particular outcome can be predicted from the reported facts alone.

Talk to a Personal Injury Attorney in Durham

If your question involves injuries, insurance, fault, medical documentation, settlement paperwork, or a possible deadline, speaking with a licensed North Carolina attorney can help clarify your options. Call 919-313-2737 to discuss what happened and what steps may make sense next.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about North Carolina personal injury law based on the single question stated above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not medical advice, tax advice, or insurance policy interpretation. Laws, procedures, and local practice can change and may vary by county. If there may be a deadline, act promptly and speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney.