Customers expect a safe shopping experience when they enter a grocery store. You may be in a rush to prepare a last-minute dinner for family or friends. You may need to get your groceries for the week, or you may require a lot of items. Whatever the case, you are not accounting for hazards that threaten your health and safety when you arrive at the grocery store. And yet, accidents happen daily. As DC grocery store injury lawyers, we know how many hazards can present at grocery stores. When you imagine a grocery store injury, the first thing that comes to mind may be slippery floors and spills. Unquestionably, that is the most common type of injury we see at grocery stores. However, as we will discuss, negligence presents itself in many forms.
Given that the grocery stores in Washington, D.C., are in an urban environment, you are less likely to see parking lot incidents. Instead, you will see higher foot traffic as downtown DC is more densely populated than the surrounding suburbs. With higher foot traffic, dangerous conditions are likely to be created. We will discuss the legal duty of a grocery store in more detail below. But in general, the more people that frequently traffic the grocery store, the more staff the grocery store should have to ensure safe premises for all business invitees. By understanding the common causes of grocery store injuries and your legal rights if you are injured, you will be better prepared to take your first steps toward compensation.
Don’t navigate the complexities of a grocery store injury case alone. Reach out to a seasoned DC grocery store injury lawyer today to discuss your options and get the support you need.
The legal duty of a grocery store is one that any invitor owes to its business invitees. First, an invitee is a person who enters the premises in response to an express or implied invitation from the landowner. This is a significant bit to note. The implied invitation you get from a grocery store is to go inside and shop for items they sell. The scope of the implied invitation does not extend to you going to the back of the store where it is marked “employees only.”
The grocery store’s duty to the shopper is for the employees to use reasonable and ordinary care to keep the property safe. This duty includes warning the grocery store of or making safe, nonobvious, dangerous conditions known to it. You may wonder, can’t the grocery store plead ignorance? A second duty is to make reasonable inspections to discover unsafe conditions. The more foot traffic in the store, the more frequently the grocery store should inspect for hazardous conditions. Note that there is no duty to warn if the hazard is obvious. Additionally, the store must use ordinary care in active operations on the property.
Slippery floors and spills are the most common cause of grocery store injuries. These injuries are not as high-impact as a car or bicycle accident. However, if you are an older adult and you fall, you can be seriously injured. In our 70 years of practice, our DC grocery store injury lawyers have handled accidents where clients fractured hips, noses, wrists, and more due to a slippery floor and spill. The question in these cases is whether the grocery store knew or should have known of the spill. We can determine if the grocery store employees learned of the spill if they tell you something immediately after the fall.
For example, we have had cases where a grocery store employee says to our client, “I was just coming over to clean that spill up.” That statement from the employee indicates the store was aware of the hazard and did not act quickly enough to protect the invitees in the store. There are other instances, such as when the warning sign that the grocery store places by the hazard is not actually in the victim’s view. For example, if you are coming up an aisle and the slippery floor sign is around the corner, you may not be sufficiently warned, and the grocery store’s liability would not be absolved.
These are trickier cases than slippery floor cases. For a slick floor, the dangerous condition may not be apparent. The yellow warning sign makes the hazardous condition obvious and absolves liability. When there is an obstruction on the grocery store floor or aisle clutter, it may be apparent. Or, you may be contributorily negligent in injuring yourself. You are barred from recovery if you are found even 1% negligent in causing your injury. However, instances of obstruction and aisle clutter still lead to a viable negligence claim against the grocery store. In DC, space is at a premium. The impact of such clutter can be hazardous.
Aisle clutter can come from various sources. This clutter can be dangerous. Below are some common examples.
If the grocery store owns the parking lot, you may be able to make a claim against the grocery store. You may also be able to make a claim against another driver, pedestrian, or trucker if their negligence injures you.
The first thing to do is ensure your health and safety. If your injuries are life-threatening, contact paramedics and rush to the emergency room. If your injuries are not as severe, look to file an incident report at the grocery store. This will create further records of the injury that occurred. If any employees said anything to you about your injury, get their name. Also, note the time of the injury and where it happened in the store. Take photographs of anything relevant to the accident. For example, take a photo of the spill if you are injured on a slippery surface. If there is a warning sign, take a video showing your path and how it was not in your sight when you fell.
Our DC grocery store injury lawyers have handled supermarket injury cases for 70 years. In our practice, the law has mostly stayed the same. Fortunately, the ability of victims to document evidence with their smartphones has only improved. If you are injured at a supermarket, contact Gelb & Gelb today for a free consultation.
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