It isn’t unusual while shopping for groceries to hear this over the intercom: “Clean up on Aisle 8!”
It is crucial that business owners quickly address spills or mark freshly mopped areas with “wet floor” signs. This is because of the danger that exists if someone should slip and fall on their premises.
When hazards exist in places such as the supermarket, customers can suffer serious injuries like one California nurse did back in September 2015. She slipped on a wet floor while shopping at a Ralphs store in Oceanside and suffered a serious shoulder injury.
The woman, then 63, was injured so severely that she required shoulder replacement surgery. Her shoulder became infected, requiring not only treatment but removal of the shoulder hardware, necessitating another replacement.
In December, after a four-day trial, the woman was awarded more than $270,000 for medical expenses and $1.1 million in pain and suffering.
Since Ralphs admitted negligence, much of the trial concerned how the injury impacted the woman both professionally and personally, as well as the amount of the medical bills she would face going forward.
“It went beyond just a simple shoulder case to more of a chronic pain with a lack of sleep and associated fatigue-type case, which I think a lot of the older jurors we spoke to really empathized with,” one of the woman’s attorneys said.
This case shows exactly what can happen when a property manager is not diligent about caring for the premises. This woman’s life has been impacted forever by just one moment of taking part in an activity that countless people across the United States do on a daily basis.
When a business opens its doors and invites the public in, there is an implied guarantee that you will be safe there to conduct your transaction — whether that is a quick trip to drop off your dry cleaning, pick up a prescription or buy a bunch of bananas. If that business fails to live up to its expectations, the legal system can help.
Subscribe To This Blog’s Feed