Yes. California businesses are responsible for customers’ safety on any part of their property. That usually includes the parking lots and sidewalks outside.
Ice and other hazards should be removed in a reasonable amount of time. If you come along and take a dangerous fall on slick pavement and suffer an injury, you can seek recovery help from the store. A settlement check should cover all medical bills and missed time at work.
What Should I Do If I Slip And Fall on Ice Outside of a Store?
California grocery stores, restaurants, and other businesses are liable for the care of customers. They must remove hazards, including those created by Mother Nature, before visitors, customers, or clients can come along and be hurt in a fall.
Unfortunately, if you get hurt, a store like Walmart or Smart & Final won’t usually offer help automatically. They’ll be looking to deny responsibility or limit the support they must provide.
A key for victims will be to back their cases with strong evidence. If they turn their cases over to a skilled California slip-and-fall lawyer, their lawyers will be fully investigating the accident and the business involved.
However, an attorney would be on the scene when an accident occurs, but this is where the most compelling evidence can be found. If victims are left strong enough, they should try to complete a few tasks and collect these details:
- Get out of harm’s way or call for help if you are in the path of vehicles
- Call for an ambulance if you are hurt
- Allow paramedics to check out every pain you have
- Go to the hospital if necessary
- Take photos of the icy patch where you slipped, then entire parking lot, and photos of your injury if visible
- Get witness contact information
- Make sure a manager knows about what happens
- Send someone into the store to get a manager for you if necessary
- Allow a manager to fill out an incident report
- See your own doctor even if you’ve already been to the emergency room
You should see your family physician and get checked out. Tell your doctor about what happened and show your doctor any new pain that’s arisen. Sometimes in the shock of a fall, the pain of an injury can be masked. A broken bone or a sprain may not make itself known until a day later. Follow your doctor’s orders.
Contact a California Slip-And-Fall Lawyer
If your injury is more serious than some scrapes and bruising, you may want a lawyer to handle your case. Stores will be able to afford teams of lawyers all looking for ways to blame you for your accident or downplay the injury you’ve suffered. Your Maison Law lawyer is a safeguard against this unfair treatment.
Contact Maison Law for a free, no-obligation consultation. It’s a no-risk way to find out what your injury is worth and what you should be holding an insurance company to.
But remember, a lawyer is often able to secure much more in recovery help for you than you could earn handling your case yourself. If you require our help to get the maximum in injury support, you won’t need to pay any upfront money. We don’t get paid unless we win your case. Then our fee comes out of the money an insurance company must provide to you.
