Louisville Slip & Fall Lawyers
Falls Can Cause Serious Injury
Slip and fall accidents are the third leading cause of accidental death in the United States, behind automobile accidents and poisoning. When property owners neglect their homes and businesses and fail to keep them safe, they subject people to an unreasonable risk of serious injury and even death. When accidents happen and people slip and fall, they shouldn’t have to suffer in silence.
If You Have Been Injured in A Slip and Fall, Take Action Immediately
Slip and fall accidents can happen for a variety of reasons, and injuries can be severe. Common causes include:
Failing to replace or repair stair railings that are damaged or missing
Leaving standing water or other spills on the floor or pavement
Failing to maintain adequate lighting
Failing to fix rotten or damaged floorboards on stairs, walkways, and porches
Failing to remedy uneven sections of concrete
Slip and fall accidents happen fast. But the effects can last a lifetime. If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property, including a grocery store, restaurant, or retail store in Kentucky, Tennessee, or Indiana, take action right away.
Contact a slip and fall accident lawyer who can stand up for your rights. Contact the Slechter Law Firm today. We help victims recover compensation for their medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other legal damages caused by negligent store owners, managers, and employees.
Grocery Store Slip and Falls Can Cause Serious Neck and Back Injuries
A slip and fall is a serious matter. Common injuries include head, neck, and back injuries; fractures in the ankle, wrist, or hip; and facial lacerations, not to mention lasting and painful sprains and strains.
A grocery store is one of the locations where a serious slip and fall accident is most likely to occur. Although a slip and fall in a grocery store may be embarrassing, it is important to report the incident to management at the store, talk to anybody who witnessed the accident, and see a doctor if you experience any pain, discomfort, or unusual symptoms, such as dizziness or blurred vision.
Grocery Stores Have to Provide Customers Reasonably Safe Premises
Grocery store owners have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. This duty extends from the parking lot to the sidewalk and entryway and throughout all areas of the inside of the store open to public access.
Keeping the premises reasonably safe includes cleaning up spills and removing obstructions to prevent a slip and fall or trip and fall, making sure objects are properly stacked on shelves to keep them out of the aisles and prevent them from falling and striking customers, and also making sure all areas are properly lit and guarded to deter or prevent assaults on customers.
Common hazards to watch out for in grocery stores include:
Spills of food or liquids
Puddles from condensation or leaks in refrigerated and frozen food aisles
Slippery floors from excess moisture in the produce department
Improperly stocked items falling from shelves
Products in the aisles
Negligently placed displays
Boxes and pallets in the aisles due to stocking during store hours
Floor mats that are bunched up, improperly positioned, or missing
Automatic door malfunctions
Cracked or broken sidewalk or parking lot surfaces
Poor lighting
Damaged or defective carts
Our Firm Excels in Slip and Fall Cases Involving Complex Litigation
A grocery store violates its duty to an injured customer when it has actual or constructive notice of foreseeable harm to customers but fails to correct the condition or put up a warning in a reasonable time before the accident occurs.
Determining whether store employees actually knew about the danger or should have known about it, and how long it existed, can be difficult. Sometimes it is necessary to bring in industry experts to review records, video, etc., and determine whether store aisles were routinely inspected according to industry standards.
Also, store owners and their insurance company lawyers may try to argue that the customer was at fault for not paying enough attention to where he or she was going.
How Do I Protect My Potential Claim for Compensation?
If you slipped and fell in a grocery store, be sure and notify the store manager. Show management the location of the accident, and make sure that an incident report gets written up. Even though you may be embarrassed by the incident, don’t fail to report it, and don’t decline any offers of assistance, including an ambulance or ride to the hospital, if you feel it is needed.
Other steps you can take to protect your possible claim include taking photos of the hazardous site, talking to witnesses, and noting any surveillance cameras that may have caught the incident. Follow up with your doctor if you experience any pain or other symptoms in the coming days, and keep all of your medical receipts related to the accident.
You should also keep a log of the time you missed from work, as well as a diary of the symptoms you experience and how your life is affected by the injury.
As soon as you think that you may need to file a claim for compensation, contact the Slechter Law Firm. Your consultation is free, and we do not charge any fee unless and until we recover for you. Court costs and case expenses are only paid to us if we win or settle your case.
Have You Been Injured in A Restaurant?
Restaurants can be busy, hectic places during the lunch or dinner rush, and it’s not too uncommon for a server or guest to spill food or a drink on the floor. Yet no matter how busy it gets, there is no excuse for wait staff, bus staff, or management to ignore or neglect a spill or other hazard, thinking they will “get to it in a minute” after they put in the next order or seat the next guest.
That “one minute” may be one minute too long, and the restaurant can and should be held liable for any accident which occurs because of their unreasonable delay. The premises liability attorneys at the Slechter Law Firm work to make sure that diners injured in a restaurant slip and fall or trip and fall accident are fully compensated for their injuries.
Restaurant Owners Have a Duty to Provide Safe Premises
Restaurant owners, managers, and employees have a responsibility to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition for diners. This includes a duty to clean up a spill or repair a hazard, and where necessary to provide a clear and conspicuous warning before, during, and after the clean-up.
Typical restaurant premises hazards include:
Spilled food and drink
Wet floors after mopping
Bunched up rugs or floor mats
Unmarked steps
Objects on the floor
Many restaurants are dimly lit for atmosphere, which is not always conducive to safety. Extra care should be taken in dim or dark restaurants to keep objects off the floor and make sure ramps, steps, and inclines are lighted, marked, or otherwise visible.
Restaurant Premises Liability Cases Can Be Difficult to Prove
Restaurant slip and fall cases can be difficult to prove in court. It is important to be able to prove that employees or management had actual or constructive notice of a hazard (this means they actually knew about it or should have known about it had they taken reasonable care) yet failed to correct the danger or place an adequate warning within a reasonable time.
When the hazard is a food or drink spill, it can be difficult to identify when the spill occurred in relation to when the slip and fall occurred, and whether an unreasonable period of time elapsed between the two events.
The attorneys at the Slechter Law Firm are experienced in complex litigation matters such as this and understand how to go about preparing and presenting a strong case for compensation.
Have You Been Injured in A Restaurant Slip and Fall Accident?
If you are the victim of a restaurant slip and fall, make sure the manager is informed of the accident. Even if you don’t feel bad at the time, be sure to report the incident to management. It is important to have the incident on record at the restaurant to help protect your claim.
If you feel pain later that day or in the coming days, don’t hesitate to see a doctor. Keep a record of your medical bills, and contact the Slechter Law Firm in Louisville. We represent clients throughout Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee.
Were You Hurt in A Retail Store Accident?
You expect that the premises of a store will be safe. While you’re out shopping, you’re not thinking about looking for hazards around you; you’re looking at the products on the shelves. In fact, you shouldn’t have to spend a lot of time being wary of ways you could get hurt.
Property owners who invite the public in and who profit from those visitors have a legal responsibility to inspect their property for ways that someone could be injured and, if they determine that something could be unsafe, to repair it.
If business owners don’t carry out these duties competently, they may be forced to pay for the injuries that result. If you’ve been hurt in a retail store accident, you may have a right to money damages for your medical expenses and pain and suffering.
Immediately after an injury, contact the compassionate and experienced Louisville premises liability lawyers at the Slechter Law Firm to discuss whether you should take legal action.
Do Retail Store Owners Have a Duty to Keep Their Premises Safe?
Retail stores have a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe from any hazards that could cause injury to customers. These hazards can include dangers caused by other customers, the results of a storm, or even dangers caused by negligence from the store’s employees themselves. Customers can become seriously hurt by:
Falling objects from poorly-stocked shelves or displays
Food or drink spilled by fellow customers
Tears or holes in carpet or flooring, that casue a tripping hazard
Snow, ice, or rainwater that is not removed from slippery floors or walkways
Not all accidents in retail stores will result in major injuries; a simple slip-and-fall may not cause more than bruising or a few scrapes. On rare occasions, however, a retail store accident will leave the victim with injuries that could have a serious impact on their life for months or even years into the future. These injuries include:
Bruised ribs
Broken bones
Traumatic brain injuries
Ligament and soft tissue strains and tears
Lacerations and deep cuts
Spinal injuries
Injuries such as these are painful and can require months of medical attention and rehabilitation to properly treat. You may also have to spend time off work to fully heal from your injuries. You shouldn’t be saddled with these expenses because a store owner failed to keep their property safe for their customers. In fact, you deserve to be compensated by that negligent property owner.
Get Help Seeking Money Damages for Your Injuries
The premises liability attorneys at the Slechter Law Firm excel in complex litigation involving complicated factual situations or difficult legal questions. We fight to make sure you are treated fairly, and that responsible parties are held accountable for their negligence.
If you’ve been hurt in a slip-and-fall or other accident, speak with an experienced lawyer about your legal options to be compensated for injuries you’ve received. In Louisville, contact the dedicated and compassionate premises liability lawyers at the Slechter Law Firm for a free consultation on your possible lawsuit. Please complete our form if you wish to reach out to us online.