Maison Law is committed to helping slip-and-fall victims secure the recovery support they need from unhelpful corporations like Walmart. To find out what you should be demanding from Walmart, contact a skilled Slip-And-Fall Lawyer and schedule a free consultation. It’s a no-risk way to determine what your injury is worth and how to hold a negligent corporation responsible.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Suffering a Slip-And-Fall Injury at Walmart?
If you take a fall to suffer a serious injury at Walmart, you should speak to a lawyer about your options. Having a personal injury lawyer examine your case is especially important if you feel Walmart could have acted to prevent your accident.
Walmart and its insurance adjusters will attempt to blame for the fall. They’ll downplay how serious your injuries are. Walmart can also afford corporate lawyers who will work to limit the support you receive in recovery. Your Stockton slip-and-fall lawyer fully investigates your incident and uses the evidence to prevent Walmart from wiggling out of taking full accountability.
Who is Responsible If I Fall at Walmart and Get Hurt?
Thousands of Stockton residents end up at the Walmart locations on Hammer Lane and Trinity Parkway each month. It’s a great place to find groceries and home goods at fair prices, and that’s why those aisles are so crowded. Customers can spill drinks, drop candy, and leave boxes on the floor as they rush through, and those hazards can still be sitting there when you walk through. It’s an accident risk that is never-ending.
Walmart invites customers and visitors to park in its parking lots, walk its aisles, and use its bathrooms, and they have a responsibility to do more than just accept your credit card. California’s premises liability laws ask business owners and corporate chains to show a “duty of care” to all shoppers. They must protect visitors from the time they get out of their cars all the way to the back bathrooms.
Walmart managers and workers are required to monitor the aisles and produce section for puddles and obstacles that could send a shopper to the ground for a painful broken bone or head injury. They must clean up or fix these hazards in a reasonable amount of time. If they don’t and you get hurt, you have the legal right to seek compensation from them to help pay for your medical and financial recovery.
Walmart won’t automatically admit fault and offer support to you and your family while you heal. They’ll try to cast doubt on your injury claim and limit the support you receive. They may only pay for a visit to the emergency room and try to avoid accepting liability for the physical therapy and surgeries that could follow. Your Stockton Walmart slip-and-fall attorney fights to make sure these costs don’t come out of your pocket.
Stockton Walmart Slip-And-Fall Dangers
Walmart is supposed to keep its aisles clean and clear. They must act if a stockperson leaves a box in the aisle that could catch your foot and send you down on your kneecap. They must avoid putting displays in places where they could trip someone.
They are also responsible for the dangers that other shoppers leave behind. These are just a few of the hazards that Walmart managers and employees are responsible for spotting and cleaning up:
- Spills — A frequent danger that ends up on Walmart floors each day. Water may puddle unseen at the bottom of produce bins or around dairy cases. Soft drinks, juice, ice cream, and other slippery liquids should be mopped up. A “wet floor” sign should also be out so that you don’t come along unaware and fall to injure your back or fracture your hip.
- Walmart Bathrooms – Spilled water or soap can make for especially slippery bathroom tile.
- Floor Hazards – Boxes or candy on the floor can send someone tripping or slipping. A curled floor mat, and uneven surfaces can all send someone down to suffer a bump on the head and a Traumatic Brain Injury.
- Weather Hazards – When it rains employees and managers must keep an eye on the water that customers track in. Mops and wet floor signs should be out.
- Parking Lot Hazards – Potholes, unsafe steps, broken sidewalks, and landscaping obstacles can all send you falling forward to land on your knee or your face.
Common Injuries After a Walmart Slip And Fall
A fall to the hard floor or catching the edge of a shelf on the way down can do major damage. Another fear with a slip-and-fall that affects the victim’s mobility is the time they have to be off their feet. Victims can develop other major health issues while having to stay in a hospital bed or a wheelchair.
It’s why victims must seek the most in support available now because if complications arise later, they won’t be able to ask Walmart for additional compensation.
These are some of the serious trip-and-fall injuries that Stockton emergency room doctors treat regularly:
- Broken Hands, and Arms – Trip-and-fall victims can try to cushion a fall by throwing their hands out. Fingers, wrists, and elbows might suffer fractures. Fingers and shoulders might also be dislocated.
- Hip Joint Fractures – Victims, especially senior adults, can damage one of the bones in the hip joint and experience long-term mobility problems and chronic pain.
- Knee Cap Fractures – A trip-and-fall could send someone down on cement to place their full weight on the knee joint. Victims might suffer other complications resulting from the time they are bedridden as a knee heals.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) – Victims suffer head trauma when hitting the floor or when striking something on the way down. A TBI might cause memory loss, and seizures, and leave someone with a concussion.
- Facial Fractures – Victims may fall directly on their faces, injuring noses, and enduring permanent scarring. Victims might break their jaws or injure an eye socket.
- Dental Injury – Victims who hit the floor with their chins or the side of their faces risk losing teeth and suffering a punctured lip.
Earning Compensation After a Slip-And-Fall at Walmart
You’ll want to begin building a strong case that proves Walmart’s negligence as soon as possible and immediately after a fall if you are physically strong enough. That obstacle that sent you to the ground will likely be removed or repaired the next time you visit the store.
If you need medical attention, call 911. Then, if you are able, take photos of the hazard that caused your fall. Get contact information from witnesses. Also, you’ll want to notify a manager about what happened. The manager should create an incident report and this report can serve as evidence in your favor.
Then, once you alert a Maison Law attorney about what happened, your lawyer begins a full investigation. Your lawyer secures all other evidence available, including surveillance video and witness testimony. With this strong evidence secure, your lawyer begins to negotiate with Walmart to make sure you receive the support that’s fair.
These and other factors should all receive compensation in a Walmart Slip-And-Fall settlement check:
- Hospital and medical expenses.
- Costs associated with a permanent physical disability such as medical equipment, and renovations at home and work. Potential costs for education to learn a new career.
- Emotional and physical distress. The physical pain you experience and the anxiety and depression that may follow a traumatic incident and injury.
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
- Travel expenses. Money spent getting to appointments and seeing specialists that may be far away.
- Income and benefits you’ve forfeited while missing work.
- Damage to personal items.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a Walmart slip-and-fall injury claim?
Two years. California law provides two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. But don’t wait years. Act quickly to give your lawyer access to fresh evidence and a chance at tracking down witnesses.
What if I can’t afford to pay a slip-and-fall lawyer?
You won’t need any upfront money to hire Maison Law. Our Stockton Walmart slip-and-fall lawyers don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement Walmart must pay you.
Will I have to go to court to earn slip-and-fall compensation from Walmart?
Not usually. Most personal injury cases are settled outside of court. Walmart wants to avoid the cost and embarrassment of going before a judge. But your lawyer will have a strong case prepared in case a lawsuit and a trial are necessary.
Contact a Stockton Walmart Slip-and-Fall Lawyer
After a slip-and-fall accident, be sure to discuss your case with an experienced personal injury attorney serving all of San Joaquin 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.
Maison Laws takes immediate action to secure the most compensation possible for your recovery from the Walmart Corporation. Contact us today for a free case evaluation to find out how we can help you earn the support you need to get back on your feet physically and financially.