grocery store aisle

Grocery Store Slip and Falls

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By Yosi Yahoudai
Founder and Managing Partner

Accidental falls often result in serious injury, particularly among children and older adults.  Unfortunately, many falls occur at commonly visited public spaces and establishments, including grocery stores. 

Grocery stores have a legal duty of care to provide a safe environment. When that duty of care is breached, and a fall happens on store property, the grocery store may be held liable for personal injury damages. 

If you’ve suffered an accidental fall, you must protect your right to financial compensation. Experienced California slip and fall attorneys share key points about grocery store slip and falls and how to protect your legal rights afterward.

Why Are Grocery Store Slip and Fall Accidents So Common?

Does it surprise you to learn that thousands of people are injured in supermarket falls each year?  It shouldn’t. The combination of supermarket flooring, liquid products, and human error creates a prime environment for slip and trip accidents.

Top 5 Causes of Slip and Trip Grocery Store Falls

Many situations can lead a person to fall on grocery store property.  Misplaced baskets or carts and protruding product displays often contribute to trip and fall accidents. However, supermarket slip and falls generally result from one of the five following conditions:

  1. Uneven or cracked sidewalks and pavement: Many falls happen before customers ever set foot inside the store.  If the accidental fall happens on supermarket property, inside or outside, the store is still potentially liable.  
  2. Wet floors at store entrances and exits: It’s not uncommon to encounter supermarket entries that are wet and slippery. Water tracked inside on rainy days and from snowmelt creates a slipping hazard. 
  3. Food, beverage, and liquid product spills: Leaky products, dripping food containers, and malfunctioning equipment such as drink dispensers and freezers can leave hazardous spills on tiled floors, which may go unnoticed until after a slip and fall accident. 
  4. Missing Custodial Signs: Maintenance personnel sometimes perform duties such as mopping or waxing during store hours of operation.  Failing to section off the work area or post “wet floor” signs create slipping hazards that open the store to personal injury liability in the event of a resulting accident.
  5. Damaged rugs or bunched floor mats: Supermarkets may place carpet or floor mats at entrances and produce sections in an attempt to catch water spills or drips.  Unfortunately, carpet and mats often bunch up or snag customers’ feet, resulting in potential tripping dangers. 

Any of these conditions can be mitigated by spill clean up and flooring maintenance. But all too often, a slip and trip accidental fall is the very incident that highlights the need for attention to hazardous floor conditions. 

How Dangerous Are Grocery Store Slip and Fall Accidents?

While some grocery store slip and fall accidents cause only minor lacerations and bruising, many result in severe and even life-threatening injuries. 

Victims of supermarket slip and falls can land with significant force. This force, combined with an unyielding tiled or cement floor, often results in broken bones, back injuries, and head and neck trauma. The CDC reports that falls are a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries.  

What Should I Do if I Slip and Fall in a Grocery Store?

If you slip and fall on supermarket property, you need to protect your health and legal right to compensation.  

Follow these 7 steps immediately after your accident:

  1. Seek medical attention
  2. Request to see a store supervisor
  3. File an incident report 
  4. Document evidence through notes and photographs
  5. Request copies of surveillance camera footage
  6. Collect contact information from witnesses
  7. Retain a slip and fall lawyer

Once negligence by store personnel and property owners is determined, they can be held liable for your injuries. As such, they might attempt to minimize the situation or shift blame for the accident onto you. Medical reports, incident records, photographic evidence, and witness statements are essential to a successful personal injury claim. 

Can a California Grocery Store Slip and Fall Attorney Help Me Sue for Money?

If you have suffered a slip and fall accident due to another’s negligent acts at a California supermarket, you may be entitled to damages. Medical expenses, lost wages, lost future income, and awards for pain and suffering may all be recoverable. 

For help from a knowledgeable legal team and experienced California grocery store slip and fall attorney, contact our office today.  

We will review your case evidence and explain your legal options. If you have an actionable claim, we will conduct a thorough investigation and proceed toward settlement or litigation against the at-fault party. 

While you focus on healing and recovery, we will fight for the financial compensation you deserve. Contact us today.

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About the Author
Yosi Yahoudai is a founder and the managing partner of J&Y. His practice is comprised primarily of cases involving automobile and motorcycle accidents, but he also represents people in premises liability lawsuits, including suits alleging dangerous conditions of public property, third-party criminal conduct, and intentional torts. He also has expertise in cases involving product defects, dog bites, elder abuse, and sexual assault. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California and is admitted to practice in all California State Courts, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. If you have any questions about this article, you can contact Yosi by clicking here.