Yes. California premises liability law requires store owners to protect all customers from harm no matter if they are inside or in the parking lot. The dangers can come in the form of boxes left on aisle floors that can force someone to trip and land on the hard floor. It may be an unrepaired pothole outside that sends someone down on a knee.
If someone is hurt by these preventable accidents, victims can file lawsuits and demand help with their medical bills and lost income while they can’t work.
California Store Owner Responsibilities to Prevent Accidents
California personal injury statutes protect shoppers when they drive up to a retail location, park and exit their vehicles, and as they walk down store aisles. A store owner or operator is responsible for the safety of all visitors they welcome in. That includes taking reasonable care to clean up or repair any tripping hazards.
California laws go over the store or property owner’s duty:
California Civil Code (CC) 1714.
“(a) Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself…”
Store owners and corporate owners must make sure their employees aren’t creating hazards. Store workers must also monitor at all times for the dangers that other customers create. They must find these obstacles in a reasonable amount of time and remove them in a reasonable period.
Trip-And-Fall Accident Dangers in Stores
Tripping hazards can be especially dangerous because they usually send someone falling forward. Victims can land on their kneecaps, their sides and hips, and even their heads. Victims caught in a trip-and-fall might also suffer cuts on their faces and bust their teeth loose. They can reach out with their arms to cushion a fall, only to break fingers and wrists on the hard tile.
These are just some of the trip-and-fall hazards that store owners should never ignore:
- Aisles cluttered with stocking boxes, dropped merchandise, and displays
- Trash left on floors and not swept up
- Tears in rugs or cracks in floors
- Potholes in parking lots
- Crumbling sidewalks and stairs
- Landscaping obstacles left out
Victims injured by these dangers should snap photos of the obstacles and get witness contact information. They must also alert a store manager about what happened so an incident report gets filled out. This report can serve as additional evidence to build a strong case that proves the store’s negligence.
Contact a California Slip-And-Fall Lawyer
If your slip-and-fall injury is more serious than some minor 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 provides to you and your family.
