Stores Are Prime Locations for Slip and Fall Accidents

Stores Are Prime Locations for Slip and Fall Accidents

You can slip and fall anywhere—while walking down the sidewalk or even in your own home. However, a common location for this type of accident is a retail store. When people go shopping for food, clothes, or other household items, they probably do not expect to end up in the emergency department. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens on many occasions.

Store owners and managers should always have a process for inspecting their premises and identifying any potential slip and fall hazards. If they discover hazards, they have duties to rectify these situations as soon as possible or, in the meantime, provide obvious warnings to customers so they can avoid those hazards. A common example is a sign warning about a wet floor in a grocery store.

This duty may not seem complicated, but the number of stores with improperly discovered or addressed dangerous conditions may surprise you. This results in unknowing customers slipping and falling, resulting in serious injuries.

Slip and Falls While Holiday Shopping

Slips and falls are particularly common during busy shopping seasons such as the winter holidays. You have likely either seen or experienced the mayhem that can occur on the biggest shopping days such as Black Friday or Christmas Eve. Stores are packed with customers, lines are long, and staff can hardly keep up. This leaves little time for staff to inspect a store and clean up any hazards.

In addition, shoppers can drop items and debris in aisles, move boxes or displays, and generally mess up a store. Anything protruding into walkways or on the floor can create a significant slip and fall hazard, especially for people who are in a hurry and are not paying attention. Suddenly, a shopping trip ends with a painful injury that may require treatment and keep you from working for a period of time.

Slip and Fall Injuries

Some people who fall down can get right back up with only perhaps their egos bruised. Many others, however, hit their heads, twist their backs, catch themselves wrong on their wrists, or suffer other traumatic injuries. Injuries that may result from slip and fall accidents include:

• Concussions
• Broken bones
• Sprains or strains
• Soft tissue tears
• Neck and back injuries

Having a crowded store is no excuse for owners and managers to neglect to keep their premises safe for customers. If you slipped and fell due to a hazard that they should have addressed, you should hold the store fully liable for all of your losses.

Contact an Experienced Florida Slip and Fall Attorney to Discuss Your Accident

At The Florida Law Group, we believe that another party’s negligence should never disrupt your life. If you sustained injuries and incurred losses due to a slip and fall accident, our Tampa personal injury attorneys are here to help. We offer free case evaluations and handle many types of injury cases, so please do not hesitate to call 813-463-8880 or contact us online to schedule a consultation today