Most people visit a grocery store at least once a week. In fact, it’s not uncommon for people to hit their local grocery store two or even three times a week. If you live in the Columbia Area, you may like to shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Food Lion, Kroger, Lowes Foods, the Piggly Wiggly, or Earth Fare.
While these local favorites are popular destinations for milk, bread, cheese, meat, and fresh produce, they all have one thing in common: shoppers are prone to having slip and fall accidents at each one of these supermarkets. After all, grocery stores are just like any other retail business; they can be places where accidents happen, and where shoppers are injured to the extent they need to file a personal injury claim against the store.
Common causes of grocery store accidents:
- Produce falls on the floor, is smashed and becomes slippery
- A refrigerator or freezer leaks fluid on the ground
- A shopper knocks over merchandise, which breaks and spills on the ground
- An employee waxes the floors, creating a slippery surface
- An employee does a poor job stocking merchandise and it falls on a shopper
- A shopper is cut on a sharp grocery cart
- A shopper is robbed or attacked in a dark grocery store parking lot
- A shopper is hit by a car in the store parking lot
- The entrance of a store is all wet because of rain
- A shopper slips on ice outside of a grocery store
- A shopper is assaulted by an employee or another shopper at the store
Was the Grocery Store Negligent?
Grocery stores and supermarkets are not liable 100% of the time for the injuries their patrons suffer on their properties, but in many cases, they are legally responsible. When someone is injured at a grocery store and they file a claim, it falls under what’s called “premises liability,” a breed of personal injury claim.
If you were injured at a supermarket, we would have several questions for you. Was the store negligent in some way? Should the store have known about the hazardous condition? Did the store have time to remedy it, but they failed to? Would a similar store in the same situation have done something different that could have prevented the injury from occurring? Who created the dangerous condition, an employee or a shopper?
If we determine that the store was negligent and its negligence was the direct cause of your injuries, you may be able to file a premises liability claim against the store. To explore your legal options, contact Masella Law Firm, P.A. for a free initial consultation.