Businesses are required to keep conditions safe for their customers, called “business invitees.” As a business invitee, you have a right to feel safe and secure in the business. Accidents happen! Businesses may have hidden or obvious dangers, which may cause injury. Often, they will claim it was your fault you were injured, or that the injuries were in existence prior to the fall.

If an attorney contacts the business immediately after the fall, they should demand any surveillance footage be set aside and stored.
When approaching a business, be aware of your surroundings. If it is raining outside, there is a good chance both the pavement, as well as the floor inside, are wet. If you slip or fall while inside, they will point to the shoes you were wearing or argue you should have been looking where you were going.

A hurdle for slip and fall injuries is proving the business owner knew or should have known a dangerous condition existed. The business owner is going to blame you for your fall. What caused you to fall? If it is a liquid, look to see which color it is or whether it is clear. If it is water and the water is dirty, it is likely the water was there for a long enough time for an employee to become aware of the dangerous condition. If the water is clear, it may have been recently spilled or has recently leaked. This may indicate the employee(s) who oversaw maintaining the area did not see the dangerous condition. Look around to see whether there are any track marks from shoes or shopping carts. This indicates the substance has been there long enough for others to walk through. Look for any witnesses and employees and ask for their contact information. It is very unlikely an employee will openly blame the store, but that employee may later be terminated and no longer have incentive to protect their former employer.

If you fall over a parking stop, check to see whether the stop was clearly visible, was in disrepair or had been painted. Paint can fade, especially when directly exposed to sunlight, or to large amounts of traffic. Business and property owners have a duty to keep areas outside their premises safe. Business owners have a duty to maintain their stores in a safe condition. If the business owners failed to correct a dangerous condition which they knew, or should have known existed, they may be the legal cause for your injuries!

Call us at 1-800-332-1992 for a free consultation for any slip/trip and fall injuries in business!