A trip to the grocery store in Coeur d’Alene requires you to wear a mask for protection. But grocery store owners have a duty to protect you from other hazards in and around the store, like hazards that could cause you to trip and fall.
Thousands of people a year slip, trip, and get into other mishaps inside those bright, gleaming stores. Ice in the parking lot or water on the floor of the produce section can all be enough to send you to the ground with a surprising amount of force. The injuries can be real too. Anything from a broken hip to a head wound.
If you are hurt while visiting your local grocery store, the slip-and-fall attorneys at CCD Law of Idaho would like the chance to defend your rights. You should not be stuck with an expensive recovery for an accident that’s not your fault. It seems like common sense, but when dealing with large corporations, your support through your accident is never guaranteed. An attorney working for your benefit can make sure a grocery chain can ignore your pain and make your case disappear. Contact us for a free consultation.
Coeur d’Alene Grocery Store Premises Liability Cases
A family must carefully plan their meals out each week. There has to be enough cereal for breakfast, lunch meat and sodas in the fridge, snacks for snack time, and enough supplies for five or six dinners. This ambitious operation may send you to the grocery stores in Coeur d’Alene several times a week.
Places like Albertson’s, Safeway, and Fred Meyer are glad to accept your money as many times as needed, but did you know they’re also expected to keep you completely safe when you visit.
Under Idaho premises liability laws owners can be liable if they are negligent in cleaning up spills or repairing store damage that ends up hurting you. Under the law, they owe you a “duty of care” to give you a reasonably safe experience every time you enter their property. That’s from the parking lot and to the back bathrooms.
Coeur d’Alene Slip-And-Fall Hazards
The next time you bring your grocery list to Target or Wal-Mart you might notice the potential hazards all around you. All of that foot traffic in and out of the store brings a steady line of children and careless adults through. They can all be guilty of spilling drinks, dropping candy, leaving water on the bathroom floor, and dropping a glass jar of pickles.
The list of things that can send you slipping to that shiny, hard floor is long, and the results can be painful injuries that have the potential can take your freedom by robbing you of your mobility.
These temporary, and sometimes permanent, injuries can be caused by a number of common dangers lying around any store:
The dangers don’t have to be inside either. The hazards extend out to the parking lots as well. Here are just a few of the many problem areas that could result in a painful injury for a customer:
- Outside the store – Weather can create problems as you try to reach the front door. Ice and snow are common in Idaho, but it’s still a proprietor’s duty to provide a safe path inside. You can also be injured tripping over a pothole or cracked pavement. Even landscaping can provide a hazard.
- Inside the store – Spills are supposed to be spotted and cleaned up in a reasonable amount of time by employees. There are supposed to be warning signs out as well. If this duty isn’t met you can take a fall. Floor mats can be a tripping hazard and send you falling forward to injure your hands and wrists, knees, face, and head. Stockers can leave items on the floor along the aisles. You don’t see them until they’ve sent you into a fall.
Slip-And-Falls At Local Grocery Stores:
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if I fall at a grocery store?
Document everything you can, but determine if you need an ambulance first. Call 911 if you need help. Then, if you can get up, take pictures of the scene and the hazard that sent you to the ground. Alert a manager about the accident, so the company is informed. Get contact information from any witnesses and employees willing to help. Don’t tell people that you’re okay, because you may not be later. Get checked out by your personal physician. Contact an attorney to find out more information on how to avoid getting cheated by the store’s insurance company.
What kind of documents will I need for my slip-and-fall case?
The incident report the grocery store writes up will be one of the most important pieces of evidence you can have. Make sure you get every detail on there. Let them know you’ll need a copy of that report. You’ll also need medical records detailing your injuries and the costs of treatment. If you miss time from work with your injury you’ll need paycheck records to show how much in wages you’ve lost. Keep notes on all expenses you’ve suffered after an accident, including travel costs to appointments and meetings.
What if I was partially to blame for my grocery store trip-and-fall accident?
You can still recover compensation from a grocery store, even if a slipping or tripping accident was partly your fault. If you weren’t exactly paying attention to where you were walking, or you didn’t see warning signs that were out, you may be assigned a percentage of the blame for your injury. Because Idaho is a comparative negligence state the store owner can also share a percentage of the blame for perhaps not fixing a hazard quickly enough. You can still earn a considerable amount of compensation from your injuries, but your final award would be reduced by your percentage of the blame.
Contact a Couer d’Alene Slip-And-Fall Attorney
Established in Spokane in 1948, Crary & Domanico, P.S. is licensed and practices in both Washington and Idaho. We are committed to providing the victims of serious slip-and-fall accidents with the absolute highest quality legal representation. If our Coeur d’Alene Slip-And-Fall Accident Lawyers represent you for your accident case, you have our assurance that we will use our absolute best efforts to win your case. Contact us after any accident resulting in a serious injury for a free, confidential consultation and case evaluation. We will only offer you advice which is in your best interest.
