Maison Law represents slip-and-fall victims hurt at supermarkets in and around Bakersfield. We help victims hold companies fully accountable when their unsafe aisles cause customers to fall and get hurt. To find out what you should be demanding from a grocery store after suffering an injury on its property, contact a skilled, local lawyer and schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Taking a Fall at a Grocery Store?
If you slip and fall at a grocery store and your injuries are very minor, you may not need the help of a lawyer. It’s when you suffer serious harm, like a broken wrist or a head injury, that you may need the protection of a Bakersfield slip-and-fall lawyer. If owners and operators could have taken action to prevent your accident, you should be demanding help with your recovery costs.
When medical bills start to build, insurance adjusters and corporate lawyers will fight even harder to get a grocery store chain out of having to provide support. They may say you caused your own fall or try to convince you to sign off on a “lowball” settlement offer that doesn’t cover all of your recovery costs. Your Maison Law attorney is a safeguard against this treatment. Your lawyer will submit all evidence to force a business to accept responsibility and pay the maximum in compensation available.
Who Is Responsible if I Fall and get hurt at a Grocery Store?
Store owners invite shoppers in every day in the hopes of making a sale. Places like Vons and Smart & Final Extra are happy to swipe your credit card, but they can’t forget they have a legal duty to protect you while you are visiting their stores.
It’s a legal “duty of care” under California premises liability law. It means store owners and employees must take action to keep you safe from hazards. They must monitor for fall risks, like a puddle, and fix or remove the issue before you come along and fall and come away with a serious injury.
If you or a loved one are injured by a preventable hazard, your family can seek full compensation for medical bills, lost income, and many other hardships.
These are just a few of the trip-and-fall and slipping hazards that might leave a grocery store chain liable for accidents and injuries:
- Refrigerator and freezer puddles
- Spilled and busted products like cooking oil, juices, or spaghetti sauce
- Customers spills
- Bathroom puddles
- Remnants of fruit or vegetables on aisle floors
- Employee cleaning materials or boxes on aisle floors
- Merchandise or displays obstructing aisles
- Falling merchandise
- Potholes in the parking lot and crumbling sidewalks
- Rainwater tracked in near the front door
Employees and managers must do routine checks for these dangers and clean up, remove, or repair them. Wet floor signs must be out when mopping is done. When these duties are neglected and you get hurt, a slip-and-fall lawyer can help you file a claim and hold a local store owner or a corporate grocery chain liable. Supermarkets will do their best to blame you for what happened, but your lawyer will fight back and threaten a lawsuit if they don’t offer a fair settlement.
These are just a few of the retailers who operate around Bakersfield that we can help you file and win your case against:
What To Do After an Accident At a Bakersfield Supermarket
Your well-being and safety are the most important factors after a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall at a supermarket. Call 911 if you are injured. Let EMTs check out every pain you have and go to the hospital if necessary.
If you are physically able to move around, there will be key pieces of evidence on the scene of your accident that you should try to collect. If you must leave in an ambulance, ask someone with you or a helpful witness to grab a few of these details:
- Get photos of the scene – Show the obstacle or hazard that caused your injury. This hazard will likely be removed the moment you leave. Note your surroundings and visibly show the lack of warning signs around.
- Alert a grocery store manager – You will need to inform someone in authority with the store about what happened. The corporate office will require that an incident report be written up. This report can help prove your case later. Don’t ever accept fault for what happened and don’t declare that you are uninjured. You might say “I’m okay” but not realize how badly you are injured due to your shock masking the pain of a serious injury.
- Chat with witnesses – Discuss what they saw and get their contact information. Turn this information over to your personal injury lawyer.
- Keep evidence – Keep any receipts you have from the store involved. Hang onto any damaged personal items. Keep the shoes you were wearing when you fell. Try not to wear them again so they can be presented as evidence that your footwear was not the issue.
- See your physician – Make an appointment with your medical care provider. Get all pain and injuries detailed on a medical report. Keep all billing invoices.
- Contact a lawyer — Reach out to a personal injury lawyer before speaking to any insurance representative from the store or any corporate lawyers. They’ll be hoping you don’t realize what your injury is worth. They’ll also look to get a recorded statement from you over the phone. You should decline to give a statement. Insurance adjusters hope you’ll say something they can twist later to hurt your case. Stay informed of your rights by talking to a lawyer of your own and let your attorney handle the frustrating communication with adjusters and store lawyers.
Compensation Available for Grocery Store Trip-And-Fall Victims
After a knee injury or something as serious as a hip fracture, victims have up to two years to file a claim after a fall. If you wait longer than two years, your case will likely be thrown out because the statute of limitations has been reached.
Don’t let your two years expire and, in fact, act as soon after the accident as you can. Allow your Maison Law attorney to begin an investigation as soon as possible. Any proof you collect on the scene should also be turned over to your attorney as quickly as possible.
You’ll want to sit down with your personal injury attorney and examine everything you’ve been through and make sure every hardship gets listed in your injury claim. You’ll be asking for support in the present and for economic damages you may suffer in the future.
These are just a few of the factors that can earn you and your family financial support from a supermarket chain:
- All medical expenses
- The ongoing expenses associated with a permanent disability or long-term injury
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life due to an injury
- Travel costs while making doctor visits and seeing specialists
- All wages lost while in recovery
- Property Damage
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still seek support if I was partially responsible for my slip-and-fall?
Yes. In California, the victim and the business can share responsibility. Even if you are found to have been a bit careless when you fell, a business can still bear partial liability, and be ordered to provide partial support.
Will I have to go to court to win compensation for my slip-and-fall injury?
Not usually. Somewhere around 90% of all personal injury cases are settled before they reach court. Insurance companies don’t like to pay to defend themselves before a judge or risk having their unfair practices exposed.
What if I can’t afford to pay a slip-and-fall lawyer?
You won’t need any upfront money to pay Maison Law. Our lawyers work on a contingency basis. It means we don’t get paid unless we win your case. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check you receive.
Contact a Bakersfield Grocery Store Slip-and-Fall Lawyer
After a slip-and-fall accident, be sure to discuss your case with an experienced Bakersfield slip-and-fall attorney serving all of Kern County. You should be able to focus on your recovery without worrying over the hospital bills piling up and the paychecks you’re missing while out of work.
Allow Maison Law to go to work on your case to secure the most compensation possible for your recovery. Contact us today for a free case evaluation to find out how we can assist you. There’s no obligation and your case review is completely confidential.
