If you live in Spokane, you know about Rosauers Supermarkets. They’ve been a fixture in the city and the valley since 1934. While they haven’t grown to a national chain like others, many in Spokane and the surrounding region look at Rosaurers as part of the city’s identity.
Today, the company is owned by its employees and has stores in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. In every grocery store, including Rosauers, there are accidents that injure customers, with the biggest culprit being a slip and fall.
Duty to Keep Shoppers Safe
Under Washington law, Rosauers 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, Rosauers 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
There are many ways to get injured in a supermarket. Most come from slipping and falling or tripping over some object, but there are other injuries that come up as well. 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 Rosauers Supermarkets are:
- Broken Wrists
- Broken Hips
- Facial Bone Fractures
- Head Injuries
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Severe Back Strain
- Angle Breaks/Sprains
- Deep Lacerations
- Electrocutions
- Chemical Burns
Causes of Injuries
Most injuries in a Rosauers come from someone falling. Slipping on some spilled wine or a piece of fruit. Trips happen too from boxes left out or a caution sign that wasn’t put away. There is a lot of refrigeration equipment in a grocery store, and these sometimes leak fluids which can be dangerous. Also, electrocutions can happen as well as falling products or debris from a ceiling.
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 haphazardly “fixing” equipment. In these cases, since the fix itself was negligent, the owner isn’t given a reasonable time after becoming aware of the problem.
Making a Claim
Slip and Fall cases are sometimes difficult to prove because the owner will claim they did things in a reasonable and safe manner. At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we know how to make a proper and legal claim and how to show that their efforts to fix weren’t reasonable or done in a timely manner.
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.
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.
