Many of my clients have the misfortune of falling while shopping. Whether it be at the local coffee shop, or while shopping for new clothes, people are injured much too often at stores. Oftentimes, store owners fail to make sure their stores are reasonably safe for customers.
It is important to keep in mind however that not ever fall (and resulting injuries) are the legal fault of the respective store. Rather, before the store can be held liable for your injuries, it must be shown the store had NOTICE of the condition you claim caused your injuries. Notice can be shown by a number of ways, but it must be proven before liability can attach.
For example, suppose you slip and fall in the grocery store while shopping for groceries. You claim that it was water on the floor that caused you to fall. Further suppose the water was on the floor, and it caused you to slip and injure yourself, but the water had only been on floor for thirty seconds before your fall. Showing notice on the part of the store would be tough under these facts.
However, if it can be shown the water had been on the aisle floor for more than five minutes, and had become dirty as a result of people walking through it, then notice would be easier to prove.
Each case is unique with different facts. However, the one constant, generally, when dealing with falls in retail stores, is that notice of the condition that caused you to fall must be proven by you, or your attorney, before the store can he held liable for your injuries.
Thank you for this info! My girlfriend fell in a store and injured her ankle, she slipped on some water on the stairs. Thank for sharing I feel like looking for a personal injury lawyer in Phoenix will be better now that we have a better understanding of our situation. http://www.arizonapilawyer.com
Posted by: Tom Hardy | February 13, 2013 at 12:24 PM
Great breakdown of what you need to do if you fall in a store.
Posted by: MW | February 14, 2013 at 04:55 PM
Hope this applies to all states and countries. some countries they even laugh at you once you slipped on a slippery floor.
Posted by: mark | February 20, 2013 at 04:58 PM
This is good to know. I have a friend who fell when he slipped on a pile of garbage right outside a mall and he's been thinking about hiring a personal injury attorney in Hawaii to help him cover the medical costs.
Posted by: Steve | February 21, 2013 at 12:07 PM