Bakersfield slip-and-fall accident victims who get hurt at grocery stores can seek support from local and corporate owners. This support can help with medical bills and lost income while victims must miss valuable time at work.
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield offers a free, no-obligation consultation for all fall victims in Kern County. It’s a chance to help determine who is to blame and to find out how to hold those at fault and their insurance companies fully accountable.
Do I Need a Lawyer If I Fall in a Grocery Store?
If your injuries go beyond a few minor bumps and bruises, it’s a good idea to talk over your case with a Bakersfield Slip-And-Fall Lawyer. With more severe injuries and higher medical care costs, insurance companies will fight harder to avoid having to give you a check. Major grocery chains will also have corporate lawyers ready to turn the blame around on you.
Your attorney fights back on your behalf, investigating your accident and securing evidence that keeps the facts from changing. The experience of a great attorney often means you’ll be getting much more for your injury than if you decide to handle your claim yourself.
Who Is Responsible If I Trip-And-Fall in Bakersfield Supermarket?
California civil codes and premises liability laws all make it clear that businesses that invite people in must also be responsible for each customer’s safety.
The owners, operators, and Employees are accountable for the construction hazards that may be present in the store, like cluttered aisles, exposed wiring, and flooring defects.
But that’s not all. Store chains like Albertson’s or Vallarta Supermarkets must also instruct their staff to continuously monitor the store for hazards that shoppers might create. This might mean mopping up a soft drink, and ice dropped to the floor. Of course, putting a wet floor sign out is another safety measure that stores can get in trouble for skipping.
The law holds stores accountable for accidents that result, but stores like Whole Foods and Vons often work hard to avoid blame so they can dismiss any injury claims. A skilled lawyer won’t let this stand and gets aggressive to force grocers to accept fault and help injured victims.
Grocery Store Fall Injury Dangers
People don’t usually think about accident risks as they head into a grocery store with a list. They get what they need for the week and get out.
But in any public place, there are hazards that arise that put shoppers at risk of major injuries. A fall can target some very vital parts of the body. A bone in the hip joint may fracture, limiting mobility for months. A fall that puts a lot of weight on the knee cap can also be debilitating. Any fall, forward or backward, can risk a powerful blow to the head and a traumatic brain injury.
These are just a few of the types of accident dangers that can send victims someplace like Kern Medical Hospital:
- Aisle Slip-And-Fall Hazards: Spilled drinks, broken jars, loose candy
- Aisle Trip-And-Fall Hazards: Garbage dropped by customers, boxes left out, cluttered displays
- Produce Section Hazards: Water spray and slippery fruit on the floor
- Bathroom Hazards: Floors get slick as glass when soap and water mix and aren’t mopped
- Flooring Hazards: Holes in floors, tile damage, curled-up rugs
- Parking Lot Hazards: Stores are also responsible for trip-and fall hazards and injuries in their parking lots
Parking lot accident risks can include potholes, crumbling sidewalks, and landscaping hazards. Puddles created by people tracking rainwater in the front door are another outdoor risk brought inside. When stores get rain-slicked floors, managers must mandate constant mopping, always with caution signs in place.
How Much Will I Receive for My Grocery Store Slip-And-Fall Accident?
Putting a price tag on the pain you experience and the emotional upheaval an injury causes in your life can be difficult. Your lawyer would need to examine your accident and the store’s actions that caused it. A true estimate can’t be arrived at until you sit down with a lawyer and go over what happened to you.
There are some things that are easy for anyone to total. Things like medical bills and your lost earnings. These things should be reimbursed in a settlement check. But remember, your current healthcare expenses and lost income may not be the final story. Injuries can relapse, leaving you needing additional surgeries and rehabilitation. This additional time can also make you lose more paychecks.
Don’t worry, though, your attorney will make sure every difficulty you’ve had and will have is considered in settlement negotiations.
All of these things must be factored in when determining what you’ll demand from a store like Walmart or WinCo Foods:
- Support to cover all of your medical bills for as long as care is necessary.
- Support for the medical equipment you may need to provide mobility
- Support for the physical therapy you might require to relearn to walk or grasp things with your hand
- Support for a lifetime if your injuries result in a permanent disability.
- Support for the pain you experience and that you may suffer with for months or years.
- Support for the emotional trauma you experience after a scary fall and a difficult recovery period.
- Support to replace the job income and benefits you have to go without
- Support to cover the costs of travel to make doctor’s appointments and to see out-of-town specialists.
Contact a Slip-and-Fall Accident Attorney Who Backs Your Claim with Evidence and Fights to Earn You More
After you take a fall and you’ve called for an ambulance, you should try to complete three steps if you feel up to it. 1) Take photos of the obstacle that caused your fall. 2) Alert a manager so an incident report can be filled out. 3) Get contact information from any witnesses around. Then, REACH OUT TO A LAWYER if you end up with a serious injury.
Schedule a free case consultation with Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real trip-and-fall accident lawyer. We stand up to major grocery chains, so you can focus on healing at home.
If you need our help, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll get a lawyer paid. We sign a contingency agreement with you when you officially hire us. It means we cover all upfront case costs. We also don’t earn anything unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement money that an insurance company must pay out to you and your family.
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