Grocery Store Falls

The average person spends a great deal of time over his or her lifetime in grocery stores. Unfortunately, grocery stores are not always safe for shoppers. For example, spilled food and drinks can lead to slippery surfaces that store employees may not clean up right away. Slip and fall accidents are relatively common in grocery stores. If you were injured in a grocery store fall, learn your rights with help from a Houston premises liability lawyer.

Why Do Grocery Store Falls Happen?

Grocery stores can have many slip, trip and fall accident risks. The sale of food and drinks can lead to related slip and fall hazards, as can boxes and pallets on the floor and careless employees. Some of the most common causes of grocery store falls include:

• Freshly mopped or waxed floors
• Oily or greasy floors
• Spilled liquids or food debris
• Careless or lax store employees
• Bad weather being tracked indoors
• Lack of “Caution: Wet Floor” signs
• Uneven floor surfaces
• Dangerous rugs or carpets
• Missing floor mats
• Unsafe staircases
• Cluttered store aisles
• Inadequate grocery store lighting
• Parking lot and sidewalk defects

These are hazards that can often be prevented by the grocery store or its workers. If the owner of the property or manager of the store failed to take proper care in preventing your fall accident, you may have grounds to file an injury claim.

Common Injuries Suffered

A grocery store fall can lead to severe and life-changing injuries. Some of the most common are:

• Bone fractures
• Broken hips
• Cracked pelvis
• Wrist sprains
• Elbow injuries
• Concussions and head trauma
• Cuts and scrapes
• Bruises and contusions
• Back and spinal cord injuries

Some shoppers are more vulnerable to serious fall injuries than others, including elderly shoppers.

Who Is Liable for a Grocery Store Fall?

If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury in a grocery store fall in Texas, you may be eligible for financial compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. You may have grounds for a premises liability claim against the owner or occupier of the property for failing to prevent your accident. Premises liability is an area of law that deals with the careless management of a property.

A premises liability claim consists of five main elements:

1. You were lawfully on the property. (You were not trespassing.)
2. The grocery store had a duty of care toward you as a customer. This is a legal obligation to keep you safe from reasonably foreseeable harm.
3. The grocery store or one of its employees failed to take reasonable care to prevent your fall.
4. You were injured as a result of the defendant’s breach of the duty of care.
5. You suffered compensable losses or damages in the grocery store fall incident.

If the owner of the grocery store failed to inspect the property, repair hazards and warn shoppers of potential injury risks, the owner could be liable (financially responsible) for your fall accident. You or your lawyer must prove that the property owner or a grocery store employee knew or reasonably should have known about the hazard but failed to take reasonable steps to remedy it. If your lawyer can establish these facts as more likely to be true than not true, you can recover financial compensation for your fall.

When to Contact a Slip and Fall Accident Attorney

Bringing and proving a case against a grocery store in Houston for a fall accident can be difficult. The grocery store will have a powerful insurance corporation with years of experience combatting liability claims. It is wise to hire an attorney to represent you during your premises liability case for the best possible results.

An attorney will have the resources, experience and personnel to bring a strong claim to damages against any grocery store or big box store on your behalf. Your lawyer can negotiate for fair and full financial compensation for your losses while you focus on healing. Contact the attorneys at Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP today for more information about a grocery store fall case.