Harvest Foods is one of the many grocery store options in Spokane with two stores in the valley and a couple in the greater metro area. It’s one of those stores that fits into the community by highlighting local products as well as offering a full line of national brands at decent prices.
Its popularity keeps people coming into the stores, and while this is a good thing, every grocery store has its share of accidents, and Harvest Foods is no exception. Grocery stores are actually a dangerous place in terms of accident possibilities with slip and falls usually being the biggest culprit.
At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we know how frustrating a slip and fall accident can be. You just went to the store to pick up some food items, and now you’re at the hospital. We stand ready to help you through this tough time so you can get back on your feet physically and financially.
How Injuries Happen at a Harvest Foods
A fall is the most deadly cause of an accident there is—even more than an auto accident. Most of these happen at home, but a large percentage happens in grocery stores where falls are caused by something on the floor.
Most shoppers aren’t looking at the floor but at the products, so it’s easy to not see the danger approaching. Food items make a great lubricant for creating a fall, and some of the more common fall hazards in a Harvest Foods are:
- Broken wine bottles
- Watermelon
- Grapes
- Pickle juice
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Cooking oil
- Water
- Fallen Signage
- Mops
- Brooms
- cleaners
- Leaks from roof
- Leaks and condensation from freezers and coolers
Duty to Keep Shoppers Safe
Under Washington law, Harvest Foods has a duty to keep their premises reasonably free from hazards such as spilled liquids, debris, and other problems that can cause someone to fall.
Put another way, Harvest Foods has the responsibility to keep the floor reasonably clean and free of spills and hazards to prevent slip or trip and fall accidents. However, the law doesn’t create liability for every spill or hazard, rather it says that their store must be reasonably free, not free every second.
This means if you fall and are injured, the store owner or manager is going to say that they were keeping the place reasonably clean and will most likely deny your claim.
At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we know how to make a claim stick. We know their defenses and know the tricks of the insurance companies that like nothing better than to deny you compensation.
Types of Injuries in a Slip and Fall
Unfortunately, there are many ways to get injured in a Harvest Foods store. Falls can come from slipping or even tripping over something left on the floor. At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we’ve seen them all, and we have experience in getting compensation for any type of injury at a grocery store.
Some of the more common injuries we’ve seen come from stores like Harvest Foods are:
- Broken Wrists
- Broken Hips
- Facial Bone Fractures
- Head Injuries
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Severe Back Strain
- Angle Breaks/Sprains
- Deep Lacerations
- Electrocutions
- Chemical Burns
Making a Claim
Slip and Fall cases are sometimes difficult to prove because the store owner will claim that they were being careful and that the cause of the hazard was because of another customer and not them. At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we know how to make a proper and legal claim and how to counter their defenses with the facts of the case and the law.
Remember, all you were doing was trying to shop at their store, and you were injured. Don’t let the insurance company put it back on you or tell you that it wasn’t the store’s fault.
Failure to Act after Becoming Aware of the Hazard
A premises owner has the right to fix their problem in a reasonable amount of time, but just how long and what is reasonable is up to the jury. In most cases, the owner/manager is aware of the hazard but simply takes too long to clean it up. If someone comes along in the meantime and gets injured, then the store owner is liable for the person’s injuries.
Failure to Fix Properly
In other cases, the fix of the problem is done in a negligent way—such as making the floor slicker by improperly mixing the cleaner or fixing a refrigerant pipe poorly and even more liquid comes out. In these cases, since the fix itself was negligent, the owner isn’t given a reasonable time after becoming aware of the problem.
What you need is an attorney who understands how difficult a slip and fall case is, but has the experience to get you the compensation you deserve.
Contact a Spokane Premises Liability Lawyer.
Established in Spokane in 1948, Crary & Domanico, P.S. is committed to providing our clients with the absolute highest quality legal representation. If our Premises Liability 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.
