What You Don’t Know About Grocery Store Slip-and-Falls in California
Grocery store slip-and-falls are among the most common, and most preventable, premises liability injuries in California. Slip-and-falls are, by far, the leading cause of employee and guest injuries at grocery stores, easily exceeding categories like repetitive stress injuries and food consumption-related injuries. However, especially in the Golden State, these numbers only tell part of the story. More on that below.
Due to the nature of these incidents, only the most experienced Oceanside slip and fall lawyer should handle such claims. Only such an advocate obtains maximum compensation for your serious injuries. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are often available in these cases as well.
Hidden Injuries
Most people are familiar with the physical nature of slip-and-fall injuries, like broken bones and head injuries.
Usually, these injuries are permanent, at least to an extent. Furthermore, these physical injuries often have emotional consequences.
Broken bones often never entirely heal, especially if the victim is an older adult or has a pre-existing condition, such as arthritis. So, a broken shoulder often permanently limits the range of motion in that shoulder. Furthermore, a prior injury increases the risk and severity of any subsequent injury.
Generally, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer can still obtain top dollar in such cases. Insurance companies cannot use victims’ vulnerabilities as an excuse to reduce or deny compensation. If anything, these victims need and deserve more legal protection, not less.
Emotionally, many fall victims are so afraid of falling again that they become recluses who rarely leave their homes, move around, or get exercise. The inactivity causes their muscles to atrophy, which once again, increases the risk and severity of a future fall injury.
Subsequent falls are almost inevitable. Most fall injury victims in California are repeat fallers, especially older adults.
New Laws
California lawmakers recently abandoned the traditional permission/benefit-based victim classification system and replaced this system with a blanket duty of care. The extent of this duty varies, based on such factors as:
- Likelihood of Entry: This change was designed to protect private homeowners who rarely have guests. Grocery stores, on the other hand, live and die by foot traffic. Additionally, grocery stores run daily specials and other promotions which are designed to get people in the door.
- Likelihood of Serious Injury: We discussed some serious fall injuries above. In many cases, these injuries are fatal.
- Cost of Preventing Injury: Simple precautions, like non-slip mats in produce areas, could all but eliminate grocery store falls in California.
- Owner’s Knowledge of Hazard: The owner’s knowledge could be direct, like a restroom cleaning report or a report of a fall hazard, or circumstantial, like a piece of dry lettuce on the floor as opposed to a piece of wet lettuce on the floor.
California lawmakers also revised the comparative fault defense, which is the primary legal defense to grocery store slip-and-fall claims.
Sometimes, fall injury victims, quite frankly, don’t watch where they’re going, and are therefore partially responsible for their own injuries.
Previously, joint responsibility might cripple a claim for damages. Now, California is one of only nine pure comparative fault states. So, even if the victim was 99 percent responsible for the fall injury, the grocery store must still pay a proportionate share of compensation.
Connect With a Dedicated San Diego County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Golden State.
Source:
lighthouseenterprises.us/Hurricone/Slip%20n%20Fall.pdf
