When we visit the grocery store, we expect to shop in a safe environment. Unfortunately, the negligence of store management can lead to dangerous conditions for patrons and heighten the risk of an accident.
If you fall at the grocery store, you can sustain severe injuries, financial hardship, and significant trauma. However, you may be eligible for legal action against the store owner. Here is what you need to know about filing a premises liability claim against a grocery store.
Common Causes of Grocery Store Falls
Falls at the grocery store can be very serious. Victims can break their bones, damage their spinal cords, and suffer from painful bruises and soft tissue injuries. There are many hazardous conditions that could lead to this type of accident, such as the following.
- Spills: Store employees may ignore a spill for hours and fail to clearly mark the area with hazard signs. As a result, patrons can easily slip and fall while walking around the store.
- Tripping Hazards: A store may leave out stacks of boxes, cleaning equipment, and other negligently placed items around the area. Visitors can easily trip and fall over these items.
- Equipment-Related Injuries: Many grocery stores rely on heavy machinery to move products and reach high shelves. A shopper could trip and fall on this equipment if it is left in hazardous locations or if an employee uses it negligently.
- Shopping Cart Injuries: Poorly maintained and damaged shopping carts can pose a serious fall risk for patrons. For example, carts could tip over and cause children to fall out of it, leading to painful injuries.
Liability in Grocery Store Injury Claims
Grocery store owners and their employees have a duty to maintain a safe premises. If a dangerous hazard occurs, they must warn visitors and take steps to remedy it. Unfortunately, not all stores uphold this duty of care, leading to falls.
You have the right to pursue an insurance claim or premises liability lawsuit if your fall was caused by the store’s negligence. To secure a settlement in your claim, you will need to gather enough evidence to prove four important facts.
- The grocery store owed you a duty of care.
- The grocery store breached its duty of care through a negligent act or failure to act.
- The grocery store’s negligence caused your fall and resulting injuries.
- You suffered damages as a result of the accident.
For example, say that you are walking in a store when you suddenly slip on a puddle of cooking oil. After reviewing surveillance footage, you discover that the spill occurred hours before your accident, and employees failed to clean or mark it.
In this situation, the store owed you a duty to maintain safe premises. It breached that duty by failing to respond to the spill. If the spill was not there, your accident would not have occurred, and you would not have experienced the losses that you did. As a result, you can establish the store’s liability.
Have You Been Injured Due to the Neglect of Others in Kansas City, Missouri?
If you've been hurt in a Kansas City area slip and fall you should speak with an experienced premises liability lawyer as soon as possible. Please feel free to contact us online or call our office directly at 816.832.4688 to schedule your free consultation. We are proud to serve Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding area and look forward to speaking with you.