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Grocery Store Slip and Fall

Modern food and grocery stores are marvels of variety and eye popping displays. They are filled with all types of produce and grocery items from around the world. Displays are arranged to capture our attention, hold our eye and encourage us to buy. They are also filled with coolers, freezers, and other chemical equipment. They are being resupplied and stock throughout the day. They're filled with people moving in and out, often knocking things from shelves onto the floor. In short, they are an environment ripe for causing falls.

Falls commonly result from produce, liquids, food, spills or, leaking fluids and other substances winding up on the floor and remaining there until someone steps into it or upon it throwing them to the floor. Many such substances are hard to see due to their color, which often blends with the floor. Others are not seen as our attention is focused on finding what we are looking to purchase.

Tragically, grocery store falls to often cause serious neck and back injuries, hip fractures, leg injuries, and nerve damage. Such injuries often require emergency care, surgery, therapy, and long term rehabilitation. They resulted in tremendous pain, suffering, scarring, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, as well as lost wages and lost earning capacity.

In Florida, the property owner may be held responsible for your fall if they fail to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition. The most common occurrence, of course, is the presence of food or other items on the floor of a grocery store. Many times there are no eyewitnesses to when a substance ended up on the floor. Careful observation of the size of the spill, or the size and condition of the substance which was on the floor which caused your fall, may be important factors in showing, indirectly, how long the substance was allowed to remain prior to you encountering it. For instance, if a cooler was leaking slowly, it takes a long time to accumulate a puddle of water three or 4 feet in diameter. The more information which can be learned about the condition which caused you to fall, will increase the likelihood of your ability to recover against the property owner.

If you live out of state, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer experienced in investigating and pursuing slip and fall injuries in grocery stores. A local lawyer will help you recover for your loss once your medical treatment has been completed, even if you live and receive medical treatment out of state. I've written a companion article entitled “Injured in Clearwater, St. Petersburg, or Tampa, but Live Out of State?” also available under the Library section of my website. You may also request a free copy of my consumer guide on fall cases entitled Dangerous Trips to Avoid in Your Fall Case available at www.FloridaFallBook.com.

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