8 Steps to Filing a Walmart Injury Claim for Falls and Other Accidents

See what to expect if you want to file a personal injury claim against Walmart. We walk through a claim from injury to final compensation.

With over 4,700 stores in the United States, you likely have at least one Walmart property near you. Since Walmart is one of the largest retailers in the world, it has a sophisticated system for dealing with personal injury claims at its stores.

Like many big corporations, Walmart has hundreds of attorneys handling its legal business. They have the resources and experience to fight unsupported claims. This means that if you suffer a slip and fall or other injury at Walmart, you need to present your claim well.

Here we examine what you need for a successful Walmart accident claim and walk you through the different steps of the process.

Step 1: The Injury Occurs

Skyscrapers with glass panels

Slip and fall accidents happen all the time in retail stores. Merchandise may be left on the floor, employees giving out free samples may drop food, or customers may spill drinks that the store neglects to clean up. Walmart employees may even clean the wet floor and leave it slicker than it was.

Injuries can happen in the garden center or the parking lot. If you are injured anywhere on the property, the company can still be held accountable.

The results of these incidents are foreseeable: broken hips, fractured wrists, and even head and spinal cord injuries. On rare occasions, an incident may result in a wrongful death from fatal injuries.

Step 2: Report the Accident While at the Scene

Report the slip or trip and fall to a store manager before leaving the scene of your injury. Don’t struggle to get up if you’re in pain. Stay where you are until help arrives. Ask an employee or another customer to please call the manager to come to you.

Tell the manager what caused you to fall and that you are in pain. Never make excuses, “These stupid shoes” or apologize, “I’m sorry to be such a klutz” for falling or needing help. Don’t argue with the manager or offer opinions. Ask the manager to file an incident or accident report.

If you or a companion are able, take pictures of the dangerous condition that caused your accident.

Let the manager call an ambulance if you are in pain or having trouble moving. If the paramedics want to take you to the hospital, let them take you. Refusing medical attention at the scene can hurt your injury claim.

Step 3: Get Prompt Medical Treatment

If you weren’t transported by ambulance to the hospital, call your doctor or go to an urgent care facility for a medical evaluation. Tell your medical providers when, where, and how you were injured.

Follow your doctor’s orders for treatment and physical therapy until you are released from medical care. Your medical records will establish that you were hurt, and link your injuries to the accident at Walmart.

Step 4: Request Walmart Security Videos

After ensuring that your medical needs are met, your priority should be requesting and obtaining the security footage from the Walmart store where you were injured.

You can ask the store manager to turn it over voluntarily, but it’s highly unlikely they will hand it over. Walmart’s risk management and legal departments have internal policies preventing the release of footage that can legally be used against them.

The more reliable method is to retain a personal injury attorney who will send a written notification of your claim to Walmart with spoliation language. The letter will warn Walmart not to “spoil” any video footage or other evidence in their possession that may relate to your slip and fall case.

If you and your attorney decide to file a personal injury lawsuit against Walmart, your attorney will subpoena copies of the security camera footage during the discovery phase of litigation.

Step 5: Beware of Giving a Recorded Statement

When you first submit a claim to Walmart’s insurance company, you will likely be introduced to its investigation company, Claims Management, Inc. (CMI). CMI may ask you to give a recorded statement about your injury. Be careful about agreeing to this, and seek legal advice before you do.

Claims professionals and insurance adjusters are trained to extract information from claimants. They can use a variety of techniques to get you upset or confused, and ask trick questions.

Anything you say in the recorded statement can be used against you, along with any communication from you including mail, email, and phone calls.

When you are represented by a personal injury lawyer, all communications will have to go through your lawyer. No one from Walmart can call or question you directly.

Step 6: Gather Evidence to Support Your Claim

Walmart has procedures in place for dealing with a variety of premises liability claims. Like many high-profile companies, Walmart will not rush to pay out accident claims. Their procedure is to push back and demand evidence regarding your injury.

The burden is on you to prove you have a valid claim. You need specific information about what happened, including photographs, video, witness testimony, and other evidence showing the circumstances that led to your injury.

Medical bills and records will show how you were injured and the cost of your medical treatment. Medical expenses are a key factor used to determine how much your injury claim is worth.

Your employer can provide a verification of lost wages, including lost opportunities for overtime, and any sick leave or vacation days you had to use because of your injuries.

Step 7: Consult an Experienced Attorney if Needed

Businessmen shaking hands with one of their colleagues smiling near themIf you have recovered from a minor injury at Walmart and only want to get a few medical bills paid, you might decide to handle the claim on your own.

You can submit copies of your bills to Walmart’s insurance company along with proof that you were injured on Walmart’s property. You might even get a few dollars for your inconvenience.

Pursuing a serious injury claim against a retail giant like Walmart is always a difficult task that requires an experienced slip and fall attorney.

Most law firms offer a free consultation to injury victims. Choose a firm with the financial stability to advance the legal costs needed to win an injury case against a corporation and the expertise to take your case through the appeals process, if needed.

Legal costs in a lawsuit may include:

  • Medical experts to verify the scope of your injuries
  • Deposition expenses
  • Copy fees for documentary evidence
  • Court filing fees

Your attorney will typically agree to represent you on a contingency fee basis, meaning their fees and costs will be paid out of your settlement or final court verdict.

Step 8: Wait for Final Compensation

Walmart’s large and experienced legal team makes it necessary for you to get your own attorney so that you can have a fair fight. You may have to sue Walmart to get them to take you seriously. With proper representation and evidence, slip and fall injuries can result in large judgments against Walmart.

This recently happened in a West Virginia case resulting in a $17 million verdict. Walmart tried to fight the verdict, but the jury decision was upheld on appeal by the West Virginia Supreme Court.

Even if you can get a judgment against Walmart on your slip and fall case, expect the company to pursue appeals. If an appeal is filed, you can still engage in settlement negotiations. You would probably be paid a lesser agreed-upon amount.

It’s not uncommon for corporate defense teams to agree to drop an appeal if the injured victim will accept an amount less than the trial jury award. Talk it over with your attorney.

When you accept an injury settlement, you can take the money and get on with your life. In many personal injury cases, taking the lesser amount is better for the injury victim than starting over with the time, cost, and risk of an appellate case.