Find out what it takes to get fair compensation for a grocery store slip and fall claim. See what to do, and mistakes to avoid, to build a strong case.
The average American shopper heads to the grocery store at least six times every month, adding up to more than 332 trips to the supermarket every year.¹
Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries in the United States.² It’s no wonder that so many slip, trip, and fall accidents happen at grocery stores and supermarkets.
All supermarkets and groceries are required to keep their stores safe for customers. Injured shoppers can seek full compensation thanks to customer-friendly premises liability laws.
10 Steps After Falling at a Grocery Store
Knowing what to do after a supermarket or grocery store injury is crucial to building a strong claim. Just as important is avoiding costly mistakes. Your actions immediately after the fall can make or break your claim.
1. Ask for the Manager
If you fall and can’t get up, ask the person nearest to you to call the manager. It’s important for the manager to see the scene exactly as it was at the time you fell. If you fell on a wet floor in the produce section, the manager should look at where you fell, the water under you, and where the water was leaking.
2. Request an Incident Report
Most supermarkets require their managers to file an incident report with the corporate headquarters. The report will include the date and time of the accident, its causes, and the customer’s contact information.
Ask the store manager for a copy. The manager may say the reports are for company use only. That’s okay. If a lawsuit becomes necessary, your attorney can subpoena the store’s records on the accident.
3. Seek Prompt Medical Care
If you believe you’re seriously injured, ask the manager to call 911. The paramedics will treat you, and if necessary, take you to the local hospital emergency room.
If you aren’t taken directly to the hospital, seek medical attention as soon as possible. See your primary care provider, go to the emergency room, or visit an urgent care center. Be sure to tell your medical provider when, where, and how you were injured.
4. Look for Witnesses
Family or friends may make good witnesses, but independent eyewitnesses are even better. Do your best to get the names and contact information from independent witnesses. Ask them to jot down on any piece of paper where you can reach them and what they saw. Store employees can also be witnesses.
5. Take Lots of Pictures
Take as many pictures and videos as you safely can, or ask someone else to use your phone to take pictures. You can never have too much photographic evidence of your accident.
6. Look for Surveillance Cameras
Look around for store cameras. Most supermarkets have surveillance cameras in place. Ask the manager to save the video footage that includes your injury.
7. Get Insurance Information
Ask the manager for the name of the store’s insurance company. It’s likely the manager will say someone from the insurance company will contact you after the incident report is filed. That’s fine, but get the name and address of the supermarket’s corporate office anyway.
8. Get Store Owner Information
Smaller grocery stores may not have corporate offices. In that case, get the owner’s contact information. Confirm that the manager will promptly submit the incident report to the owner. If you don’t hear from the store’s owner or insurance company, go back to the manager and ask again.
9. Collect Medical Treatment Bills and Records
Collect copies of your medical records and medical bills. Also copy all your receipts for out-of-pocket costs like medicines, doctor’s office parking lot fees, and other related expenses. Track your mileage to medical and therapy appointments.
10. Ask Your Employer for Wage Verification
If you’ve had to miss work for doctors’ visits or therapy, ask your employer for a statement of your lost wages, including lost opportunities for overtime, and how much vacation or sick leave you had to use while recovering from your injury.
Avoid These Costly Mistakes After a Slip and Fall
A supermarket accident can happen when you least expect it. Doing or saying the wrong thing after a slip and fall can seriously undermine your claim. Beware of these common mistakes the insurance company will use against you.
1. Leaving the Scene of the Accident
It’s embarrassing to fall in public. Your first instinct may be to get up and walk away as quickly as possible. It’s understandable to just want to get out of there. That’s exactly what you shouldn’t do.
The adrenaline rush at the time of an injury can mask its symptoms. You may feel all right just after the incident, only to discover hours later your muscles are sore, your face is swollen, or that cut on your arm is deeper than you first thought.
By that time, it may be too late. The insurance company won’t hesitate to deny your claim, arguing that you have no proof the injury happened at the store.
Immediately report your accident to the supermarket’s manager. If the manager isn’t available, then report it to the first employee you see. It only takes a few minutes. That few minutes can mean the difference between fair compensation for your injuries and outright denial of your claim.
2. Making Admissions Against Interest
Don’t say anything after an accident to make excuses for what happened, or to minimize your injuries. Anything the store workers or other witnesses hear you say can be used against you.
Admissions against interest include statements like:
- “I should have watched where I was going.”
- “I’m all right, only my dignity is injured.”
- “I shouldn’t have worn these shoes today.”
- “It’s nobody’s fault, I’m just clumsy.”
3. Delaying Medical Treatment
Never refuse medical treatment at the scene, or delay follow-up care. You’ll need timely proof that you were injured at the supermarket, and medical documentation to support the severity of your injuries.
If you don’t adequately treat your injuries and they worsen as a result, you may be accused of failing to mitigate your damages. The insurance company may try to reduce your compensation if you allowed your injuries to worsen by not seeing a doctor or by not following a doctor’s orders.
Insurance companies deal with fake injury claims every day. Don’t give them an excuse to treat you like a crook. The more evidence you have that directly links the slip and fall accident to your medical treatment, the stronger your claim will be.
When to Expect Financial Compensation
When you file a claim with the supermarket’s insurance company, you can’t just sit back and wait for a check. You have the legal burden of proof to support your claim, meaning it’s up to you to prove the store was to blame for your injuries.
Under each state’s premises liability laws, stores have a duty of care, meaning an obligation to make their building and property safe for customers. The store’s obligation includes keeping an eye out for dangerous conditions and taking care of the problem before someone gets hurt.
The law doesn’t require the store to be responsible for every imaginable harm. It means harm that is reasonably foreseeable. There are common hazards that store owners can expect to happen and should take reasonable care to prevent or correct.
For example, if an employee leaves a pallet in the middle of an aisle and a customer trips over it, that’s foreseeable harm. If an employee puts wet floor signs around a puddle of spilled milk, but a customer disregards the warnings and slips on the milk, that’s unforeseeable.
You can expect compensation for your injuries when:
- The supermarket owed you a duty of care.
- The store negligently breached its duty of care.
- Due to the breach of duty, you were injured.
- You have real and measurable damages.
The insurance company won’t pay a penny unless there’s proof you were hurt by the store’s negligence. You need good evidence to build a strong injury claim.
Common Supermarket Accidents and Injuries
Common causes of fall injuries in supermarkets and grocery stores include:
- Bunched, improperly positioned, or missing floor mats
- Slippery floors from leaks and spills
- Ice or snow in parking lots and walkways
- Aisle obstructions from boxes, pallets, and food
- Cracked and uneven outside pavement
- Parking lot potholes
Common types of injuries to shoppers and their children include:
- Fractured wrist or arm
- Fractured legs
- Fractured hips
- Cracked pelvis
- Head wounds, including fractured skull, cuts, bruises
- Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries
- Back and spinal cord injuries
Most people are injured in stores by slip and fall accidents. Older shoppers are particularly vulnerable to severe fall injuries. A fractured hip can permanently disable an elderly person who slipped on a wet floor in the produce section.
When You Need an Attorney to Win
Most slips or trips and falls result in relatively minor injuries, like muscle or joint sprains and strains, bumps and bruises, or superficial cuts and scrapes.
If you’ve fully recovered from minor injuries, you can usually negotiate a fair settlement from the store’s insurance company without an attorney.
You can figure out a target settlement amount by totaling your medical expenses, out-of-pocket costs, and lost wages. Add one or two times that amount to compensate you for pain and suffering. Submit your settlement demand letter, enclosing copies of your medical bills and other evidence.
Claims against a supermarket for serious injuries are nearly impossible to settle successfully on your own. Mega-chain corporations don’t care how badly you or your loved one suffered. Supermarket executives would rather spend their money on corporate lawyers than pay a high-dollar injury claim.
Most law firms offer a free consultation to injured persons. If you hire a personal injury lawyer to handle your slip and fall case, they may agree to work on a contingency fee basis. The lawyer won’t be paid unless they settle your claim or win your case in court.
You have too much at stake to face the insurance company without a lawyer in a complicated or expensive claim. There’s no obligation, and it costs nothing to find out what an experienced personal injury attorney can do for you.
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