New York Personal Injury Lawyer Announces Settlement for a Slip and Fall in a Stop and Shop Supermarket March 27, 2012

A Queens woman slipped and fell at a Stop & Shop in Nassau County and suffered a tear of the rotator cuff in her left shoulder and a soft tissue injury to her neck and low back. The woman asked us to help her get compensation from the store for her injuries. We conducted an investigation, collected and analyzed the woman’s medical records, produced a detailed Case Assessment and then presented a Settlement Proposal to the claims management firm for Stop & Shop. After negotiating with the claims manager, we reached a settlement that provided good value for our client in less than a month after she concluded treatment for her injuries. The best part of the case came from hearing my client scream with joy over the settlement.

The Facts of this Supermarket Slip and Fall Case

The woman, who lived in Far Rockaway, went grocery shopping at a Nassau County Stop & Shop supermarket. As the woman walked along the freezer aisle, she slipped and fell on a puddle of water. The water came from a leak in the freezer.

Our client lay on the floor in pain particularly in her right knee, left shoulder and left hand. Her friend helped the woman up. The store manager brought her a chair and some water and repeatedly apologized for the puddle.  Our client opted not to go directly to the hospital, but by the next morning she experienced such pain that she went to the emergency room where she began what turned into months of treatment.

Proving Negligence in a Supermarket Slip and Fall Case

We handle many supermarket slip and fall cases from throughout the Long Island and the New York metropolitan area. There are a couple of key issues to address in proving negligence in a supermarket slip and fall case:

• Do you know what caused you to fall? This issue may seem obvious, but we hear from people who fell and do not know what caused the fall. To pursue compensation, you need to know what caused you to fall. It might have been a puddle or spilled produce or cartons strewn in an aisle, but you need to be able to say definitively what caused your fall.

• Did the store create the hazard? If the store created the hazard, the store is responsible for the hazard it created. For example, if a puddle forms from a leak from a freezer or refrigerator unit or a sprayer in the produce area, then the store created that hazard. If a grocery store fails to keep the produce area clean and allows fruit and vegetables to lie on the floor, then the store created the hazard. If an employee leaves cartons unattended and strewn about an aisle, then the store created the hazard.

• Did the store know about the hazard or should they have known? If the store did not create the hazard, then it needs to know about the hazard in advance to be held liable for an injury caused by that hazard. In legal terms, the store needs to have actual or constructive notice of the hazard. Let me use some examples to illustrate this point. If a customer knocks over a display that creates a puddle and someone tells the store management about the puddle, then the store has actual notice. If a customer knocks over a display that creates a puddle in the main aisle and the puddle sits there for a long time (say ten minutes or more), then the store has constructive notice because the store should have noticed. If a customer drops a drink and you immediately slip and fall, then the store has no notice of the hazard. If the store has actual or constructive notice, the store has an opportunity to remove the hazard or warn customers to avoid the hazard. The store can be held liable if it had actual or constructive notice of a hazard that causes a slip and fall injury.

• Did the store warn about the hazard? If a hazard existed, did the store warn customers about the hazard? If an employee mops the floor and creates a hazard with a wet floor, did the store put up a reasonable warning about the wet floor (e.g., putting up yellow warning signs)? In a current case, an employee at a supermarket spilled some olive oil and my client slipped on the olive oil. Had the employee cleaned up the spill or warned customers to avoid the spill, there would not be a problem. The store bears liability because it created the hazard, failed to clean it up and failed to warn customers of the problem.

If you slip and fall in a supermarket and you know what caused your fall, you might have grounds to prove negligence. You will then need to prove that the store either created the hazard that caused you to fall or had notice about the hazard and failed to clean it up or warn customers. We can help by conducting a rigorous investigation that may involve taking photos, producing diagrams, and finding and interviewing witnesses.  Our experience and knowledge with supermarket cases allows us to develop cases designed to maximize compensation for our clients.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip and fall at a supermarket or if you have been injured due to another’s negligence, you may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with slip and fall cases. I would be glad to answer your questions and assist you. The consultation is always free. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.

Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
www.NYLawThoughts.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com

This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney. Remember, past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in the future.

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