In 1928 Safeway bought a small chain of grocery stores including a store at 2022 E. Sprague Avenue. They turned the store into a Safeway, and it served the community for over 60 years until they sold it to open a newer store down the street. Today the site is a historical site because of its history and unusual art deco architecture.
Many people in Spokane remember the Safeway store at that location, and Safeway is still a fixture in Spokane and the valley in the grocery industry. They have all the modern trappings of a supermarket, but many shoppers feel that their local Safeway is part of their community.
With all of its success and the number of shoppers that come through the doors of Spokane’s Safeway stores, it’s inevitable that accidents will happen and shoppers will be injured. Not because Safeway doesn’t live up to its namesake, but because statistically, accidents in grocery stores will happen.
At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we’ve seen how a grocery store slip and fall injury can impact someone’s life. The hospital stay and treatment, the rising medical bills, and the missed time off from work and all because you stopped to get a few items at the grocery store.
Common Causes of Slip and Falls
The number one reason for a grocery store injury is something on the floor. In most cases, the victim simply slips on a substance and then falls to the floor. Other times, there might be an object left on the floor and the shopper trips and falls.
At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we’ve seen all sorts of reasons for a fall at a grocery store, and we know how to make a claim to get the victim compensation. Some of the more common ways a dangerous hazard is caused at a Safeway:
- Salad Oil
- Pickle Juice
- Lettuce
- Melons
- Fallen Signage
- Mops
- Boxes
- Cleaners
- Wet Floor or Caution signs that had fallen or collapsed
- Leaks
Common Injuries in a Slip and Fall
A fall is the number one source of a serious injury or death in the US topping auto accidents by a significant margin. A fall can cause significant injury and even death. An injury from a fall can sideline someone for weeks or even months.
At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we’ve seen dozens of types of injuries that can happen in a fall, and no two are exactly alike. We know that the type of injury can make a significant difference in how a claim is pursued, and we take pride in our ability to listen to the needs of our injured clients.
Some of the common injuries we’ve seen come from a fall are:
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Concussion
- Fractured Wrists
- Broken Arms
- Broken/Sprained Ankles
- Fractured Hips
- Shattered Knees/Elbows
- Fractured Dislocated Shoulders/Clavicle
How to Make a Claim
Like any personal injury claim, the victim has to prove that the store owner was negligent. It’s not enough that the victim slipped on the floor and was injured, but the store owner has to be proven negligent in how they dealt with dangerous hazards in their store.
The law says that the victim must prove that there was a dangerous hazard and the owner either created the hazard or failed to clean it up in a reasonable amount of time.
Creation of a Hazard
Safeway has a duty to keep their store reasonably free from dangerous hazards. When they are given notice of a hazard, they have a reasonable amount of time to fix it or clean it up, and if they didn’t, then the hazard was due to the negligence of the store owner.
Washington law allows for a hazard to be created in two ways:
- The owner created the hazard through negligent maintenance or other means, or
- The owner knew, or should have known of a hazard and did nothing (or did something inadequate) to fix the condition.
Defenses to a Slip and Fall
The store can claim that they didn’t create the hazard directly but it was caused by someone else. Then they can claim that they were given notice of the hazard and fixed it in a reasonable time. If the owner proves both of these, then they are not going to be held liable for the injuries.
Making a Claim
At Crary & Domanico, P.S., we know that the owner is going to deny they caused the hazard and they always cleaned up their hazards in a reasonably timely manner. 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.
We have handled many of these and know how to prove that the store owner was negligent so you can get the compensation you deserve. 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.
