Hiring a Lawyer After a Slip and Fall in a Store
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
Slip and falls are unfortunately a common occurrence and while many can be avoided, some cannot. As we age, our likelihood of succumbing to a slip and fall also increases, and when this happens, it can result in more serious injuries like a hip fracture or worse.
One of the more common places a slip and fall can occur are retail stores. Some common causes of these slip and falls include highly polished floors, freshly waxed floors, going from carpet to tile, wet floors, loose tiles, and uneven walkways or other flooring surfaces.
Proving Fault in a Slip and Fall
When proving fault in a slip and fall case, you must be able to adequately prove that the property owner could have prevented the accident from happening in the first place. It is the owner's responsibility to make sure that the conditions are safe for everyone frequenting their establishment.
If the owner or manager was aware of the dangerous and slippery conditions of the floor and failed to take the steps to fix the situation, then the fault falls to them. However, this is one of the hardest things to prove when filing a claim in a slip and fall case.
Proving the negligence of an owner or manager requires a lot of evidence and documentation. It is always recommended to take photos of the area that the slip and fall occurred as well as photograph the floor, the conditions outside, and even the shoes you were wearing when you fell. Were there wet floor signs in place? If not, you want to document this as well.
Maintain Safe Conditions
One of the biggest responsibilities a store manager or owner has is to maintain safe conditions for their customers at all times. Each store is legally obligated to do so, and if not, they could be held liable for any injuries that resulted because of their negligence.
Suing in New York for a Florida Injury
Back in 2009, a woman slipped and fell in a Costco store in Florida. She was a resident of New York and was visiting. She slipped on a drink that had spilled on the floor. She ended up bringing her suit up against a New York Costco store rather than the Florida store where the incident actually happened.
The judge in New York ended up denying Costco's request to move the suit to Florida, so the judge allowed her Florida slip and fall case to be tried in New York. Doing so saved the plaintiff time and money because she was not required to travel back and forth during the proceedings.
Man Unable to Prove Negligence
There was also a man who sued a Walgreens store because he claimed he was injured after slipping and falling on some kind of liquid in a store. However, he was unable to prove where the liquid came from and what it was, so he lost the case. The employees of the store claimed the liquid was water from his shoes after entering the store.
These are just two examples of how complex a slip and fall case can be and how hard it can be to try the case and prove fault.
Hiring a lawyer is the best course of action you can take following a slip and fall at a store, so they can help you get the compensation you rightfully deserve for your injuries.