Most people associate personal injury lawsuits with slip and fall cases. That may be because numerous serious injuries are caused by both trip and falls and slip and falls. When a business is open for customers to shop, they are inviting the public on to the premises. Because the owner of a business or the person in charge of the business is in a better position to know the risks associated with that place, they have the responsibility of warning others of any conditions that could cause an injury. However, accidentally falling in a store or public place does not mean that you automatically have a foundation for a lawsuit.
Usually a property owner or manager will not be responsible for the type of accident that happens when someone slips on a grape at a grocery store for example. However, if there is a pattern of customers who have been injured because of smashed grapes in the same area or there are repetitive reports filed about someone who isn’t cleaning up the grapes when they should and the person in charge of the grapes just keeps ignoring them, then there may be a way to show that an injury caused by slipping on the grapes should not have happened.
Almost everyone has had the embarrassment of falling flat on the floor. Few things are more humiliating! Usually our ego is the only thing that gets really bruised but sometimes a fall can be serious. Broken bones or torn muscles require medical attention and sometimes loss of income if your work schedule is interrupted during healing and therapy. If your injuries were caused by something that a business owner or manager should have prevented then you may be able to recover some of your expenses.
The first thing you should do if you trip and fall inside a business or store is make sure you talk to other people around you who may have seen you fall or may have seen the cause of your fall. You will need this information later in case you have to have a way to show there was something in the floor for a long time or that other people were also at risk. It is also important to seek medical attention so that a doctor can determine if you have injuries that were caused by the fall. If you have further questions, please call my law office to schedule an appointment.