How Do Grocery Store Slip And Falls Occur?
Going to the grocery store is something we all do, but even a quick trip to pick up one item can become a life-changing event. When stores fail to provide a safe place to shop, customers can slip and fall, suffering injuries that range from minor to severe. Slipping in the store may cause you to suffer painful, lingering injuries, lose time from work and incur significant medical bills. Without a slip and fall attorney to fight for you, the result may be that you recover little or nothing for a slip and fall you did nothing to cause.
Where Do Grocery Slip And Falls Occur?
A slip and fall accident, or another injury caused by the owner or manager of a place failing to keep it safe, can happen at any time and at any grocery store and at any public place. Here are a few popular San Jose grocery stores where people can have a slip and fall accident:
• Cardenas Markets • Costco Wholesale • FoodMaxx • Grocery Outlet >• Lion Supermarket • Lucky 7 Supermarket • Lunardi's • Mi Pueblo • New Seasons Market • Nob Hill Foods • Safeway • Smart And Final • Sprouts Farmers Market • Target • Trader Joe's • Walmart • Whole Foods Market • Zanotto's
What Causes Grocery Slip And Falls?
- Parking lot negligence, such as failing to remove ice, snow, water and other slippery hazards
- Unattended hazards, such as boxes and equipment left in aisles
- Insufficient or missing handrails
- Insufficient or out of order lighting
- Wet bathroom floors - plumbing problems; leaking or overflowing sinks/toilets
- Broken or leaky bottles and jars that allow liquid on the floor
- Construction hazards caused by remaining open during remodeling
- Exposed power cables and cords during and after construction
- Produce department leaks or wet floors caused by produce misters or hosing off produce
- Floral department water spills from receptacles or leaky refrigerators
- Freezers in need of repair in the frozen food department, causing leaks onto the floor
- Floor mats that are improperly placed, worn, or wet
- Spills that store personnel fail to clean up or cordon off
- Recently mopped floors not marked as such by cones or signs
Besides Grocery Stores, Where Else Do Slip And Falls Happen?
A slip and fall can really happen anywhere. Here are some specific places and problems associated with those places:
- Bars (liquor spills)
- Garages (pavement problems, potholes, speed bumps)
- Gyms (water and soap on the floor)
- Hotels (bars, gyms, restaurants, and pools)
- On the job
- Parks (restroom)
- Parking Lots (pavement problems, potholes, speed bumps)
- Public places with wet surfaces
- Public swimming pools (wet floors)
- Resorts (bars, gyms, restaurants, and pools)
- Restaurants (food and drinks fall onto the floor)
- Restrooms (water and soap on the floor)
- Shopping malls
- Sidewalks (uneven sidewalks; cracks, potholes)
- Walkways (uneven walkways; cracks, potholes)
Is There More Than Slip And Fall?
Whenever someone takes an accidental fall, people can call it a “slip and fall”. But, there are actually four types of accidental falls. They're all considered "premises liability" accidents:
Slip and fall: When you slip on a substance on the floor. A classic example is slipping on a wet floor in the grocery store when there are no signs to warn other people that the floor is wet.
Trip and fall: When you trip and fall over something left on the ground.
Step and fall: When you lose your balance after stepping into a hidden hole or the walking surface unexpectedly fails.
Stump and fall: When you fall because the surface itself upon which you are walking has some type of obstruction.
Besides slip and falls, customers get hurt in many other ways. An example is when merchandise on a store shelf, or a store shelf itself, falls onto a customer.
Does A Store Have To Pay An Injured Customer?
In California, the general rule about premises liability is that everyone has a duty to use ordinary care to prevent everyone else from being injured as the result of their conduct. A store can be liable if a customer gets hurt at their store. A landowner must inspect their land or take other proper steps to find out its condition.
If the dangerous condition that exists on a landowner's land would have been found through their “exercise of reasonable care,” then the landowner has a duty to give an adequate warning of the danger or to fix the danger. Whether the store is liable for a customer's injury, or not, depends on whether the store took enough steps to find and fix a dangerous condition before the slip and fall.
What Are Common Slip And Fall Injuries?
Some injuries caused by such falls are:
- Back injuries
- Brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Burns
- Disfigurement or scarring
- Infection after an accident
- Internal injuries (organ damage)
- Knee injuries
- Loss of a limb
- Neck injuries
- Paralysis
- Senses: accident-related loss of smell or taste
- Silent injuries
- Wrongful Death
What Should I Do After A Slip And Fall?
- Call 911 and wait for the ambulance
- Summon store personnel if you are able
- Do not talk about who is or is not to blame
- Accept the ambulance and Get medical attention at the emergency room
- Do not make any statement to anyone except medical personnel
-
In a plastic bag, keep what you were wearing when you fell:
- Your shoes
- Your clothing
- Don't wash anything - keep them just as they were when you fell
-
Take clear cell phone photos and video if you are able, of these things:
- The scene
- What exactly caused your injuries
- Your injuries themselves
- Get the names and contact information of all these people, and email it to yourself through regular email (don't save to social media):
- Witnesses
- Property Manager
- Property Owner
- Do not fill out any forms at the store, don't talk store personnel.
- Do not give a statement to any insurance company - do not talk to them.
Do I Need A Slip And Fall Attorney?
You can make your slip and fall claim alone, but it's best to hire an attorney right away to fight for what you deserve. If you or your loved one got hurt in a slip and fall, you need a good attorney now. If you hire me, I will work on your behalf and fight for maximum payment on your slip and fall. Protect your rights by talking to an attorney before you do anything besides: calling 911 and seek medical care.
I'm Gardner Law's attorney Renée Yvonne Gardner. I speak Spanish - hablo español. I'm experienced with personal injury and wrongful death accident. If were injured in a slip and fall, contact me at (408) 214-5555 or fill out the below form for a free consultation. If your loved one passed away from a slip and fall, please call me about your wrongful death case.