Slips, trips, and falls are some of the leading causes of accidental injuries. The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) reports that slip and falls account for over one million emergency room visits per year. As Walmart is one of the largest retailers in the world, it stands to reason that some of these accidents occur on the store’s premises.
If you or your loved one were injured in a slip and fall accident on Walmart property, you could be legally entitled to compensation for your losses. Walmart has a responsibility to make its stores safe for visitors. If the corporation’s lack of care caused your injury, it could be held liable in court and be required to pay you damages.
Lawsuits against Walmart can be challenging, but the injury lawyer for slip and fall accidents at Walmart at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, may be able to help you. Our team is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable for their actions. Set up a free consultation to discuss your Walmart slip and fall injury by calling (800) 647-3113 today.
Walmart Liability for Your Slip and Fall Accident
If you or your loved one suffered an injury because of a slip and fall on Walmart’s premises, you might be able to recover compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. There are a few main steps to showing liability in this type of case:
Show That the Store Had a Duty of Care to Keep You Safe
The first part of holding an entity responsible for your suffering is proving it had a duty to act otherwise. All property owners have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions to keep people whom are invited on their premises safe.
Since Walmart invites customers to its stores, they have a duty of care to take reasonable actions to keep all customers safe. If you are a vendor, repairperson, or another sort of worker invited into Walmart, you would be considered a licensee instead of an invitee. However, the duty of care is similar.
Show That the Store Breached This Duty
For Walmart to be liable for your injury, you must prove that the corporation failed to take reasonable precautions to keep you safe. In legal terms, negligence is “a failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances,” according to the Legal Information Institute (LII). If Walmart failed to correct a dangerous condition, such as a tripping hazard, this could be negligence.
For Walmart to be liable for the dangerous condition that caused your injury, the store’s employees need to have had a reasonable amount of time to become aware of the situation. For example, if a customer spilled a drink in an aisle and you walked down the aisle less than a minute later and slipped, it is unlikely that Walmart is responsible.
If the spill was there for a significant amount of time or the employees were aware of other tripping hazards and failed to correct them, the store could be liable. Possible negligent causes of slip and fall accidents include:
- Large cracks in the pavement or floor
- Wet floors due to a lack of mats by the doors on rainy days
- Unsafe sidewalks
- Spilled products on the floor
- Recently mopped or waxed floors without warning signs
- Bunched, torn, or frayed carpeting
- Leaking ceilings
- Potholes in the parking lot
- Improper lighting
- Failure to maintain a clean environment
Show That Your Injury Was Caused by the Breach of Duty
To recover compensation for your slip and fall, you must prove that the retailer’s negligence caused your injury. You can prove an injury occurred through your medical bills. However, you will likely also need evidence such as a surveillance tape, pictures of the hazardous condition, or witness statements to hold Walmart liable. It must be clear that your injury was a result of the dangerous condition that Walmart negligently allowed.
Walmart Manages Liability Claims with Its Own Company
Instead of going through insurance or another third party, Walmart created its own company to manage all liability claims against the store. This gives the corporation more autonomy and allows it to take most claims to trial in an effort to discourage frivolous lawsuits. When the company settles a claim, it pays out of pocket, not by insurance. This can make reaching a settlement agreement more challenging than it would be in other personal injury lawsuits.
At Ben Crump Law, PLLC, we are devoted to serving justice and giving a voice to those who deserve to be heard. Reach out to us to learn more about how our injury lawyer for slip and fall accidents at Walmart may be able to help you.
Time Limit for Recovering Damages
Personal injury lawsuits are subject to a time limit, or statute of limitations. To be eligible to recover damages for your injury, the accident needs to have occurred with the time frame specified by your state’s statute of limitations. Although it varies by state, the time limit for personal injury cases is often two or three years.
If your injury is within your state’s statute of limitations, the types of losses you may recover include:
- Medical expenses
- Funeral expenses (if the fall caused your family member’s death)
- Lost wages
- Lost future income
- Pain and suffering
- Impairment or disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
Reach Out to Ben Crump Law, PLLC, for Help
The injury lawyer for slip and fall accidents at Walmart at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, is here to help you. Our team is willing to take on this giant retailer by investigating your case, gathering evidence of Walmart’s liability, and pursuing compensation on your behalf.
You and your family deserve justice. At Ben Crump Law, PLLC, we work on contingency, so you will only owe us payment if we can recover damages. Call our team at (800) 647-3113 to learn more about what we can do for you and set up a free consultation.
