What Are Common Black Friday Slip and Fall Hazards?
Black Friday is the busiest retail day of the year. It is the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season. Big-box retailers and other stores often provide customers with special pricing on desirable goods, like TVs and other popular gift items. These deals typically result in busy stores with full parking lots and aisles packed with customers. More people buying more items adds up to a greater potential for slip and fall accidents.
Black Friday has many slip and fall dangers, such as broken containers of liquid. Customers might move some items around and cause them to fall onto the floor. You also might encounter debris that creates tripping hazards. Even the flooring could create hazards that might cause you to slip and fall while inside a big-box store. The entrance might be slippery from people tracking in fallen leaves, snow, or rain if the weather is poor. A loose rug, electrical wire, or another hazard might cause you to trip. You might even encounter slick floor tile that is very slippery.
The parking area might also have dangers, including patches of ice, fluids from vehicles, and precipitation. A pothole or uneven surface might cause you to slip and fall as well.
Big-Box Retailers Must Protect Customers
From the moment you arrive at a big-box retailer, they have a duty of care to protect you from foreseeable hazards on their premises. When a dangerous condition exists, the staff are required to act reasonably to correct it while protecting all visitors.
For example, if a jar falls onto floor, a clerk or manager should place a caution sign near it to warn customers. Safety cones or signs could help keep customers away from the broken jar. After placing cautionary signs or cones next to the spill, the store’s staff immediately should clean up the mess and mop the floor if necessary until it is clean and safe again. Anything less than a reasonable response to a dangerous condition would violate the store’s duty of care which could make them liable for any accidents and injuries.
If you encounter a dangerous condition that causes you to slip and fall, you should document the problem, report it to the store manager, and obtain medical treatment for injuries. Then, you should speak with a slip and fall lawyer for legal advice.
Highland Park Slip and Fall Lawyer at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr Holds Negligent Retailers Accountable for Slip and Falls
You can get legal help from our Highland Park slip and fall lawyer at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr after a big-box slip and fall. Call us at 732-537-8570 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation. Located in Highland Park, New Jersey, we represent clients in New Brunswick, Somerset, Piscataway, Edison, South River, Sayreville, Metuchen, East Brunswick, South Plainfield, Fords, Middlesex, Old Bridge, Iselin, Bound Brook, Perth Amboy, Colonia, Elizabeth, and Newark.
