What Happens if I Slip and Fall in a Retail Store?
If you slip and fall in a retail store or in a business, how would you know whether you have a case or claim? Also, who might the case be against? This discussion examines the various speculations of responsibility for slip and fall accidents in stores and organizations.
A store or business is obligated for a slip and fall accident on its property if the store or business was careless, and that carelessness was the reason for your accident.
The fact that you fell in somebody’s store does not imply that someone will be found careless. There needed to have been a risky condition present. Further, to demonstrate that the litigant was careless, you will need to demonstrate that they knew or ought to reasonably have known about the perilous condition.
A store can be lawfully liable for dangerous conditions under a couple of various conditions. The storekeeper might be responsible if it made the hazardous condition, by utilizing an especially slippery wax to clean its floors, for instance.
Responsible Party to Sue
A vital inquiry in store obligation cases is who would be the appropriate person to sue. This regularly relies on the idea of guaranteed carelessness. Obviously, assuming the storekeeper claims the property, the main potential respondent would be the storekeeper. However, many storekeepers rent their property; therefore, the victim may have a case against the owner.
The realities of each case will decide if you can obtain damages from a store for a slip and fall accident. Stores have an obligation to keep their floors reasonably clean for clients, and management ought to regularly assess regions to which the public has access so that possibly hazardous conditions can be identified. If a substance on the floor causes a fall, and you can show that the substance had been there for a generally long time, or that the store had notice of a slippery condition, you might have the option to obtain compensation for your injuries.
Is the Landlord or Store Owner Responsible?
If you slip and fall because of some primary issue with the structure, your case would probably be against the owner. An illustration of a primary issue would be a water spill. In this case, water is spilling from the roof onto the floor, which is generally the landowner’s responsibility. There are cases with inadequate properties causing falls in retail stores.
However, if you slip and fall because of something that the storekeeper/inhabitant did or did not do, at that point your case would be against the storekeeper. An illustration of a case against a storekeeper would be slipping on a floor that the storekeeper’s worker had just recently waxed, and there were no security or warning signs to customers.
Significant Issues in Slip and Fall Cases
It is important to remember that there should be carelessness proved to win a slip and fall case. The main issues influencing carelessness in a slippery floor case are for the most part the following:
- Was the floor slippery?
- For what reason was the floor slippery?
- If a foreign substance made the floor slippery, how long had that substance been on the floor before you slipped?
- Was there a notice about the slick conditions?
- Did you realize that the floor was wet before you slipped?
- Did the storekeeper or property manager know, or would it be reasonable for them to have known, that the floor was slippery?
Why was the Floor Slippery?
To win a dangerous floor case, you need to know why the floor was slippery before you leave the premises after your accident. If you do not know what you slipped on or why the floor was slippery, it will be extremely difficult to win your case.
If you tell the store just after the accident that you do not know why you slipped and fell, the jury is probably not going to believe you or your lawyer when you attempt to affirm that the floor was slippery.
Here are a few causes of a slip and fall accident:
- Liquid substances such as water, ice, or snow
- Oil, grease, or lubrication
- An unfamiliar article such as a banana peel or other debris
- Irregular surfaces
- Failing floorboards
- Worn carpeting
- Floor wax or other cleaning supplies
In the wake of a slip and fall accident, you should glance around at the floor, at your shoes, and at your apparel to determine why you slipped.
How Long Had the Substance Been on the Floor?
To win a case involving a slippery floor, you should demonstrate that the respondent knew or should have realized that the floor was dangerous. The longer the dangerous condition had existed, the easier it is that you can demonstrate the litigant knew or ought to have known about the issue and corrected it. The banana peel is a classic example.
If a customer in a store drops a banana peel on the floor, and you slip on it 20 seconds after the fact, the store will presumably not be responsible for your accident. Twenty seconds is not long enough for a business to find out about the dangerous condition. However, if the banana peel had been there for 30 minutes, you may have a case against the store.
Was There a Warning about the Slippery Condition?
Sometimes, slippery conditions are unavoidable. For instance, a storekeeper may wax the floors occasionally. That is normal maintenance. In any case, floor wax is dangerous. Along these lines, a sensibility standard, which oversees most carelessness cases, would necessitate that the floor waxers barricade off that space of the floor or set up a sign warning of a dangerous floor. Setting up a notice does not automatically pardon the respondent of responsibility; however, it is some proof of absence of carelessness. Alternatively, inability to caution of a slick floor condition is acceptable proof of carelessness.
Maybe the most difficult aspect of bringing a premises liability lawsuit against a retail location is demonstrating that the storekeeper knew about the danger, or reasonably ought to have known about the danger, and that an inappropriate amount of time elapsed between when the store learned of the risk and steps were made to address it, if anything was done at all.
New Jersey Slip and Fall Lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr Advocate on Your Behalf
If you or someone you love has been the victim of a fall at a retail store, you are going to need skilled lawyers to navigate all the legal options available to you. The New Jersey slip and fall lawyers at the Law Offices of Harold J. Gerr will examine the details of your case and find the responsible party to hold accountable. We will fight to secure the compensation for which you are entitled. Call us today at 877-249-4600 or 732-537-8570 or contact us online for a free consultation. Located in Highland Park, New Jersey, we serve 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.
