Slip & Fall Injuries
Slip and Fall as a legal term refers generally to accidents which occur in stores such as Wal-Mart, grocery stores, malls, movie theatres and mostly in retail premises. Storeowners and shopping center owners can be held liable if they are found to be negligent in the construction and maintenance of their properties.
These injuries also include tripping, stepping into a crack in the sidewalk on the retails store’s premises or any other situation where a customer or even a window shopper is injured due to a property owner’s failure to reasonably remedy a dangerous situation that could cause an injury.
Generally a storeowner has a reasonable period of time in which to “discover” a defect such as a crack in the sidewalk but he also has a reasonable time to discover that another customer may have spilled milk onto a floor. Then, the owner has an additional time period to clean or fix the dangerous condition. However, the owner must act reasonably and this may include a duty to put up warning signs or block off the area to warn customers of the dangerous condition.
All store managers are not created equal and some do not take their jobs as seriously as they should. This can lead to serious injuries to unsuspecting customers who presume that their favorite store will not prove to be a trap that will seriously injured and sometimes disable loyal customers.
Stores buy liability insurance to cover any oversights on their part and they have the insurance to pay for their customers’ injuries when the store is legally liable. They are also responsible for other legal damages such as future medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost wages, and may other damages available by law.
If you or someone you know is injured, in any way, in a shopping accident, call the Ogletree Abbott Law Firm immediately to discuss your rights and duties after such an accident. We welcome your call and look forward to helping you understand how the law provides for injuries caused by the negligence of retailers.