Proving Negligence in Big Box Store Slip and Fall Cases

Big box stores have profit as their primary objective, which might mean they do not invest in enough personnel to keep things safe for you and other customers. The employees who work at the store might not be properly trained or supervised, or they may simply have their focus elsewhere.

There are also many places in big box stores for slip and fall hazards to develop, and when staff or management fail to do their jobs fully, these hazards can persist for a long time without any warning to customers.

If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident at a big box store, you may be entitled to substantial financial compensation. You can benefit from the help of a slip and fall lawyer when you are seeking a settlement.

You Are Owed the Duty of Care as a Customer

Any store owner owes you a duty of care as soon as you enter their premises. You assume the status of an invitee because the store has held its premises open to you as a customer. If the store owner does something considered unreasonable under the circumstances, and you can prove it, you deserve compensation for your injuries under the law.

There are several different ways that a store owner can be considered negligent in their actions:

• Their employees can create hazards that injured you, such as by leaving obstacles or dangers in your walking path.
• They might have failed to remedy a danger that someone else created within a reasonable amount of time after they knew or should have known about it.
• They might fail to warn customers about hazards they cannot address immediately, such as wet floors after mopping.

In other words, a store owner can be negligent either through their own activity or inaction. It is up to you to prove it if you want a settlement check for your injuries.

How to Prove Negligence in a Slip and Fall Case

It can be difficult to prove that the store itself was negligent. After you have been injured in a fall, you were likely not in a condition to gather your own evidence that you need to prove liability. While you may be told to take pictures and investigate at the scene, it is incredibly difficult to do so when you are hurt. At the same time, there is valuable evidence at the scene that can help prove your case. Since it may end up being a situation of your word against the store owner’s, you will need evidence that backs up your side of the story.

Pictures of the accident scene and the hazard that caused your fall are some of the most effective forms of proof. These pictures can show what the scene looked like when you fell, and they can pinpoint the cause of your fall. Hopefully, either you or someone else at the scene was able to take these pictures. If you have them, make sure to back them up and provide them to your slip and fall lawyer as soon as you hire them.

Eyewitness testimony is another potentially compelling form of evidence that can prove your case. The hope is that you were able to get the contact information of other customers who saw the incident and are willing to give a statement on your behalf. If there is a police report of the accident, it may contain the names and numbers of witnesses who your slip and fall attorney can contact.

You May Need to Obtain Evidence from the Store

In slip and fall cases, some of the evidence you need to prove your case may be in the hands of the store. Since the store owner’s actions can determine whether they were negligent, you might need to obtain maintenance logs showing when the premises were inspected and what steps employees took to fix any problems. The store may have also written an accident report, which you can use in your case (although the store may not want to overtly admit liability in this report).

Security camera footage is perhaps the most crucial form of proof of negligence that you can have. Big box stores often have cameras that record the entirety of the store. This footage might have either captured your actual fall or the conditions in the area prior to it.

However, the store is not going to simply give you the footage because it can be used against them in a legal case. You need to obtain the footage from the store through a formal preservation demand from your attorney or in the discovery process after you file a lawsuit.

It is crucial to take quick action to gather the evidence required for your slip and fall case, and you likely cannot do this yourself. Always contact an experienced slip and fall attorney who can investigate your accident and compile the necessary proof. This evidence can quickly disappear, so you must contact a slip and fall lawyer.

Dealing with an insurance company will be challenging in a big box store slip and fall case. Stores work with large insurance companies, and some major corporations, like Walmart, are even big enough to self-insure against liability. The common element is that these stores and insurance companies see many slip and fall cases like yours and are hesitant to pay because of the money it will cost them. They will take a hard line on your case, putting a heavy burden of proof on you to demonstrate negligence. If you do not have compelling proof of negligence, you can expect your claim to be denied, forcing you to sue if you want compensation.

Contact a Morgantown, WV Slip and Fall Attorney Today

If you have been injured in a slip and fall at a big box store, The Desai Firm can help. We can get to the bottom of your case and help put you in a position where you can take legal action. The first step you need to take is to visit our website or call us today at (304) 974-1974 to schedule an initial consultation with a slip and fall lawyer.