Hardware stores like Taylor’s Do It Center give consumers a one-stop-shop for all their home improvement needs. Many of these items, however, can create hazards for customers. When paint spills, grease smears, or nuts and bolts fall on the floor, anybody who happens to wander over the area can take a nasty slip and fall, causing serious injuries.
Such accident victims can pay a hefty price tag for their injuries. They will incur medical expenses and lose time and wages at work, among other potential damages. Fortunately, state laws require that property owners cover these losses when a slip and fall accident occurs as a result of the store’s negligence.
If you suffered injury from a slip and fall accident at Taylor’s Do It Center, a Ben Crump Law, PLLC injury lawyer for slip and fall accidents at Taylor’s Do It Center can represent you in your pursuit of the compensation you deserve. Call us today for a free consultation by dialing (800) 647-3113.
Causes of Slips and Fall Accidents at Taylor’s Do It Centers
Slip and fall accidents happen just about everywhere, and they can happen to anyone at any time. Hardware stores, in particular, present many of the factors that can easily lend to a slip and fall accident. Items stacked high on shelves can drop to the floor. Bits of loosely stored hardware, like screws, nails, and hinges can easily fall from a shelf in an aisle. Customers might accidentally leave a spill for employees to clean, and any number of liquids can also drip or spill, creating a slipping hazard.
Research into how this type of accident occurs shows the following types of risk factors for slip and fall accidents, all of which exist in hardware stores like Taylor’s Do It Center:
- Uneven or loose flooring
- Spills
- Poor lighting
- Potholes in parking lots
- Leaky pipes
- Broken staircase rails or steps
- Safety code violations
- Loose rugs, runners, or mats
- Unmarked curbs in parking lots
If a store manager knew or should have known about a slipping or tripping hazard and failed to remedy the danger or to warn store occupants of the hazard, you can take action to recover compensation.
Types of Injuries From a Slip and Fall Accident
Many people think of slip and fall accidents as minor incidents that generate minor injuries. Yes, sometimes a victim recovers from a spill with nothing more than a bruised ego. However, these accidents often cause much more serious injuries. Consider the following range of injuries that one might suffer from a slip and fall accident:
- Knee injuries
- Sprains and strains
- Wrist injuries
- Ankle injuries
- Ligament and nerve damage
- Shoulder injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Bruises and scrapes
- Neck injuries
- Head injuries
- Lacerations
- Hip injuries
- Hand injuries
Whatever your injury, you will incur medical expenses and other losses that you should not have to cover. An injury lawyer for slip and fall accidents at Taylor’s Do It Center can investigate your accident, establish liability, calculate your damages, and fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
In the worst of scenarios, a slip and fall accident victim may die as the result of their injuries. Please know that if you lost a loved one due to a slip and fall accident, you may be able to pursue a wrongful death action. Our lawyers can help you in this effort.
Establishing Liability
When you hire Ben Crump Law, PLLC to represent you after your slip and fall accident, we will explain to you how we can go about establishing Taylor’s Do It Center’s liability for your damages. We can summarize the process briefly here by outlining the criteria courts require for any slip and fall personal injury claim.
Courts adhere to the “Duty of Care” doctrine when considering a property owner’s liability in any personal injury case. To meet the requirements of this doctrine, our lawyers will need to prove the following:
- Duty: The defendant owed you a duty to take reasonable care to protect you from injury on their property.
- Breach: The defendant failed to fulfill this duty of care.
- Causation: The defendant’s negligence caused your slip and fall accident.
- Damages: You suffered physical, economic, or psychological losses from your accident-related injuries.
We can use evidence from an in-house investigation to prove each of the above statements and establish the defendant’s liability in your case.
Investigating Your Accident
In any premises liability case, like your slip and fall accident, the property owner owes occupants of the store a duty to fix hazardous situations before an accident occurs. If someone cannot immediately resolve the dangerous situation, the property owner owes occupants the duty to protect their safety by taking reasonable measures to warn them of the potential hazard.
Your lawyer can investigate your slip and fall to determine to what extent the property owner failed in the above duties—as well as to document how their negligence caused your slip and fall and the extent to which you have suffered damages as a result of the accident.
To gather evidence in this investigation, we can:
- Visit the scene of your accident
- Interview witnesses
- Obtain facility safety records
- Review the accident report filed for your incident
- View video surveillance footage and photos
- Gather your medical records
- Get wage statements from your employer
- Seek expert testimony from medical, economic, occupational therapy, and psychological experts
The evidence we gather will form the basis of our case by proving negligence and damages.
Working With the Insurance Company
Our lawyers can itemize your damages and present them in the form of a demand letter to the store’s insurance company. Most likely, they will respond with a counteroffer, at which point negotiations commence. We can represent your right to receive fair compensation, and if the insurer refuses to meet these demands, we stand ready to file a lawsuit and take the matter to trial.
Keep in mind that each state abides by a statute of limitations that limits how much time you have after your accident to file a lawsuit against the defendant. The sooner you hire a lawyer to work through the paces of insurance negotiations, the more time you give them to prepare your case for trial in the event that matters proceed to this point.
Let an Injury Lawyer for Slip and Fall Accidents at Taylor’s Do It Center Help You
Ben Crump Law, PLLC does not shy away from tough cases. We can fight to get you the compensation you deserve for your slip and fall accident injuries.
Call us today for a free case review by dialing (800) 647-3113.
