Whether you are shopping in a giant chain store such as Walmart or browsing the aisles at the local mom and pop market in your hometown, each store owner has a legal duty to keep their patrons as safe as possible.
If you or a loved one are injured while on their premises, there are several factors that will be taken into consideration to determine who was at fault.
Businesses that welcome the public onto their premises have a legal duty to keep their patrons “reasonably” safe.
Below are the most common scenarios of a slip and fall accident in a store:
- Customer slipping on ice accumulation in store parking lot, walkway or entrance.
- A pothole in the parking lot or cracked sidewalks.
- Customer slipping on display items that were improperly placed in aisles.
- A patron falling due to poor lighting.
- Customer slipping on a previous customer’s spill.
- Torn carpeting.
- Changes in flooring such as a step in a place that is difficult to see.
These type of cases generally fall under the category of premises liability. In most premises liability cases, the injured person must prove that the accident occurred due to dangerous conditions.
Below are the three main issues that generally must be proven to win a case:
- The store owner created a hazardous condition.
- The store owner was aware of a hazardous condition and negligently failed to correct it.
- The hazardous condition was there a length of time that the owner should have been aware of it and corrected it.