When Slip and Fall Injuries Aren’t Your Fault

By Rasansky McKenzie

Whether it’s because of the fear of being sued are simply out of having a conscience, some retail establishments are very good at helping their customers to avoid slip and fall injuries. Their floors are always dry and, when they do have to mop them, there is signage all over warning you that the floor is wet and dangerous. The carpets that lead into the establishment are always flat on the floor and never bunched up and, whenever something is too high for people to reach on their own, there’s a sign indicating that you need to contact a staff member for help and that you shouldn’t attempt to get the item off the shelf on your own. This is responsible behavior on the part of retail owners, but not all retail owners operate this way.

You weren’t warned.

The owners of some retail establishments are very sloppy with their safety practices. For example, some owners don’t bother to flag wet floors. They may think to do it when they actually go out and mop the floor, but they may not put warning signs down on areas of the floor that have become wet for other reasons. A very common example of this can be found near the doorways of many retail establishments in the winters. When people track in water, mud, snow and other materials from outside the store, they can make the floor very slippery. It’s up to the retail establishment’s owner to warn customers that the area of the floor affected could be dangerous.

It was negligent.

In some cases, retail shop owners are just negligent. They may, for instance, leave spilled materials, broken bottles or other items lying in the areas where customers are shopping. If they don’t keep their store clean and if they create hazards through their own inaction, it may be possible to take them to court and to successfully sue them for negligence.
You have to get personal injury information from an attorney to determine whether or not it’s worth it for you to file a lawsuit. The personal injury attorney may want to represent you if it seems like you have a good case and it seems like the store owner did behave negligently and cause you to come to harm. If not, the attorney will simply tell you as much. In some cases, the jury awards and settlements that plaintiffs get are substantial.

About the Author

Anyone can hire a lawyer, but if you want to give yourself the best possible chance at success, call the experienced attorneys at Rasansky | McKenzie. You only get one chance to bring your case before a court. Let them put their expertise to work for you.