Maison Law represents slip-and-fall victims hurt at supermarkets like Smart & Final Extra in Bakersfield. We help victims hold the store chain 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.
Aisle Dangers at Smart & Final Extra
Shoppers in Bakersfield fill up the aisles each day at local Smart & Final Extra locations like Calloway Drive or White Lane. It’s easy to focus on bargain shopping, but customers should also be aware of the slip-and-fall hazards around each corner.
Customers can drop items on the floor and pretty soon another shopper may also be on the hard tile after slipping and taking a fall. Store employees may mop a floor without putting up “wet floor” signs, causing a shopper to take a tumble.
These and other hazards are present nearly every day at busy stores that get a lot of foot traffic. The hazards are along the front aisle, along the back aisle, and out in the parking lot.
- Aisle Dangers – A child may drop a giant fountain soda on the floor. Puddles may develop in the produce section. Boxes may be left along the aisle. These obstacles can trip you up or cause a slip-and-fall resulting in a back or hip injury. Broken glass can leave you with deep cuts. If your head hits a shelf you could develop a severe concussion.
- Bathroom Dangers – For some reason, bathroom floors seem to be made of the most slippery material of all. Soap and water make them even worse. You could slip and take a hard blow to the head and suffer a skull or brain injury.
- Parking Lot Hazards – The areas outside of stores also provide risk. Potholes in parking lots or a crumbling sidewalk may trip you and cause you to suffer a broken kneecap or a hand or wrist injury. Rain also gets tracked into the front door area to create an immediate slip-and-fall hazard.
- Falling merchandise and Exposed Wiring – You may not fall, but something may fall on you. Heavy products sitting overhead often come loose to injure anyone who happens to be walking by. Wiring left exposed can also present a shock hazard. Sometimes store managers are negligent and leave these hazards unrepaired until someone gets seriously hurt.
What If I Get Hurt While Shopping at Smart & Final Extra?
Smart & Final is a Warehouse style supermarket with hundreds of stores in California and locations and Arizona and Nevada. They earn millions in profits each year. But even though it is a massive corporation, the chain is still held accountable for the accidents that are allowed to occur at each location.
Under California’s premises liability laws, if you are lawfully on someone else’s property, that person or business owes you a “duty of care.” This duty covers supermarket customers and means that owners and operators must ensure that visitors have a safe path in and out of the business.
Proprietors must fix any hazard they create and must monitor for hazards other customers create and clean them up in a reasonable amount of time. If you are hurt by an obstacle left unattended by employees, the business owners and operators can be held responsible.
If you suffer an injury, you’ll simply need strong evidence that shows the gas station’s negligence was to blame for the accident. A Maison Law attorney fully investigates your case. Your lawyer secures all evidence including witness testimony and surveillance footage to make sure Smart & Final’s corporate attorneys can’t get away with blaming you for a painful fall.
What To Do If You Fall at a Smart & Final Extra
Unfortunately, your lawyer can’t be there at the moment of your fall. It’ll be up to you to secure evidence that might disappear the moment you leave the store. If a hazard causes you to fall and get hurt, it’s a good bet it’ll be cleaned up or repaired before you or your lawyer can visit the location.
Assess your wounds first. If you need an ambulance, call 911. Then, if you are strong enough, try to gather some important details:
- Use your cellphone to get images – Take photos of the obstacle that caused your fall. Show the warning signs around the hazard or show where the signs should have been. Take a picture of any visible injuries and damage to clothing.
- Tell a store manager you fell – A manager will need to prepare a store incident report for his owner or corporate office. Your personal injury lawyer can use this report as evidence later. Don’t talk about how badly you are hurt or accept any blame for what happened. You likely won’t know the answer to these questions until you’ve had some time to get over the shock of the fall.
- Chat with witnesses – Get their contact information. Employees who saw the accident may also be willing to help.
- Keep evidence – Retain any personal items damaged in your fall. Don’t throw out the shoes you were wearing when you fell. Insurance agents sometimes like to lay blame on old shoes with worn soles. You can show them visual proof that they are wrong.
- Visit your physician – Make an appointment with your doctor. Get all pain and injuries detailed on a medical report. Add any injuries that suddenly appear in the days after a fall.
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 Smart & Final slip-and-fall attorney serving all of Kern County. You are allowed two years after an accident to file an injury claim, but you should act quickly. Waiting months or years can mean valuable evidence disappears and witnesses become hard to locate.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation to find out how we can assist you. There’s no obligation, but if you feel we can help your family earn more, 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.
