Autumn Means Slip-and-Falls Are Around the Corner

There is no denying that fall is a beautiful season. With the ever-changing leaves and Halloween here in town, it’s a magical time. But fall can also be a dangerous season. As the weather changes, the risk of a slip-and-fall increases greatly. With rain-slicked roads paved with fallen leaves, it’s not hard to slip and seriously injure yourself. For customers walking into stores and dragging in rain and mud with them, the probability of an accident heightens.

What happens if you fall while you’re inside of a retail or grocery store? Does the business have a duty to protect you from falling? Are they responsible if you injure yourself on their premises?

The answer depends on the injury and the circumstances that led to it.

When you enter a business such as a grocery store, you do have a certain expectation of safety. If the conditions at the store are unreasonably dangerous, and if the store management fails to warn you against these conditions, then the store can be held liable for injuries you sustained, due to their negligence in not warning you or fixing the conditions in a timely manner.

If you’ve sustained injuries during a slip-and-fall accident and have medical bills to pay and lost wages piling up, give Lependorf & Silverstein, P.C., a call to discuss your case. We’ve dealt with many slip-and-fall injury cases in Princeton and we might be able to help you receive compensation for your injury. Don’t wait, call us at (609) 240-0040.

Slip-and-Fall Injuries

It is the responsibility of the property owner/store management to keep the store reasonably safe for customers. This is an area of the law known as premises liability. The property owner must ensure that the floors aren’t wet (or if they are, that proper signs are placed or steps are being taken to remove the wetness); that there are no hazardous conditions inside the store that could foreseeably harm customers such as pipe leaks, spilled yogurt, mud, etc. If a store owner sees a potentially dangerous situation, he must act in a timely manner to fix it. For example, if he notices a rain leak, he should take steps to eliminate it quickly before it becomes a threat to patrons.

Although a store needs to make sure that their guests are safe, not every injury sustained on the premises of a business is that business’ fault. If you were harmed because you slipped on a banana peel that you dropped five seconds before, the owners of the store did not have adequate time to fix the situation and would likely not be held responsible for your injury.

For a place of business to be liable for a guest’s injuries, they must have acted negligently, such as failing to correct an apparent hazard for a prolonged period of time.

Slip-and-fall injuries can be very serious and result in long-term and costly medical issues. Common injuries from a slip-and-fall accident include fractures, head and neck injuries, shoulder injuries, facial injuries, hip fractures, back issues, knee problems, and hand and wrist injuries.

What to Do After an Accident

When it comes to slip-and-fall accidents, there are a few things you can do at the scene to help yourself. Take pictures of the dangerous conditions that led to your injury, and the area surrounding them. Take pictures of your injuries right after the accident and in the following days as well. Get immediate medical care to ensure that you didn’t sustain any internal injuries, and so that you have a professional assessment of your slip-and-fall injuries. If you have any witnesses to your accident, make sure to gather and save their contact information as they might make your case stronger.

Sustaining a slip-and-fall injury is no joke. The experienced attorneys at Lependorf & Silverstein, P.C., know this from firsthand experience because we’ve helped hundreds of slip-and-fall victims recover damages for their injuries. After an accident, you might need physical therapy; you might have expensive medical procedures to pay for; and you might lose wages due to your inability to get up and go to work, leaving you in a very stressful situation. You shouldn’t go through it alone. Speak to one of our attorneys about your case.

If you or someone you know has suffered a slip-and-fall in Princeton, call Lependorf & Silverstein, P.C. at (609) 240-0040 to discuss your case in a free consultation. You might be eligible for compensation. We’ve helped others and we’ll help you.