Many of us visit grocery stores in California at least a few times every month. When you’re picking up groceries at your favorite local store, you may never expect to become involved in an accident. However, countless victims are injured in grocery store accidents throughout California every single year.
At Maison Law, we offer representation to victims of grocery store accidents in California. We believe that, as a victim of one of these accidents, you should never be responsible for paying for your financial recovery on your own. You may have questions regarding liability in a grocery store claim and what options you have as you negotiate with the insurance company and attempt to maximize your damages.
Contact us for a free and completely confidential case consultation so that you can gain a better understanding of what options you have after a California grocery store accident.
Common Types of Accidents in California Grocery Stores
When you are on the lookout for everyday necessities at a grocery store, you never imagine that you will become involved in an accident that could affect your future for months or years to come. This is the unfortunate reality that many individuals face in California every year due to preventable grocery store accidents. These accidents happen due to a wide array of reasons, which include the following:
Damaged/Slippery Flooring: Damaged and slippery floors in grocery stores are responsible for the biggest number of injury cases in these areas. If a floor mat is bunched up or a piece of flooring is missing, it can easily lead to a fall. Furthermore, spills happen in grocery stores all the time. A store owes a duty of care to customers to clean up spills and warn them about freshly mopped floors so that slip and fall accidents do not occur.
Defective or Contaminated Products: Contaminated or spoiled food, as well as defective products, can easily lead to illness and injury in a customer. Stores are supposed to do whatever they can to ensure that they are selling products that are safe for consumers.
Equipment and Product Falls: Shelves are lined with thousands of products in grocery stores, which means that a product could fall onto a shopper at any given time. Products and other equipment should be properly stores and positioned on shelves so that shoppers are kept safe from injury.
Defective Carts: When using a shopping cart, you expect that it will function as it is supposed to. However, if a wheel is loose or metal is protruding from the cart, an accident can happen in the blink of an eye that leads to serious injuries.
Aisle Obstructions: If there are items or boxes in the middle of an aisle, a customer may not see it until they trip over it. This can lead to devastating results.
Who is Liable for a California Grocery Store Accident?
No matter what type of property somebody owns, a property owner is supposed to always protect its guests from harm. This means that the owner of a grocery store is supposed to protect its customers from any foreseeable injuries. A grocery store owner should provide proper security, adequate lighting, and properly maintain the property at all times so that accidents do not occur.
To prove that a property owner acted in a negligent manner, you must be able to show the following aspects:
- A property owner owed you a duty of care
- The property owner breached the duty of care
- The breach in duty led to your accident
- Your accident caused damages
Proving that an accident was foreseeable is not always easy to do. An example of foreseeability is when an owner knows that there is a spill in an aisle but does nothing to clean it up, causing a customer to fall. In this scenario, you may be able to hold a property owner liable for the harm that you have suffered.
Steps to Take After Being Injured in a Grocery Store
After you have sustained an injury in a grocery store accident, you may wonder where you should turn. There are some steps that you should take to protect your well-being, as well as the future of your claim. These include some of the following steps:
- Seek immediate medical attention for your injuries following your accident. Ignoring the pain and injuries will not make them go away or get better.
- Take photographs and videos at the scene of your injuries and the location, as well as what the area looked like when your accident occurred.
- Collect names and contact information of anybody involved or witnesses.
- Ask to access surveillance videos of the accident.
- Inform store management of your injury so that it is on file.
The steps that you take immediately after your accident can be vital, as they can help you bring a successful personal injury claim in the months to come. It is important that you keep your health in mind as you navigate the legal system, which is why you should never delay treatment.
Let Maison Law Help You Recover Damages After a Grocery Store Accident
After an accident at a grocery store, you may wonder what damages you are eligible for. You may also wonder what deadlines you will need to meet so that you can successfully move forward with your claim. If you are left with questions that you cannot answer on your own, speaking with a California grocery store accident injury lawyer is in your best interests.
At Maison Law, we are here for you and your family after your life has been turned upside-down due to an accident. We will provide you with the resources that you need to move forward in your dire time of need. You qualify for a free and completely confidential case review that comes with no obligation to you. Please contact us today to get started.
