If You Slipped and Fell in a Store

 

Massachusetts slips and falls in stores happen all the time. Many of my Massachusetts slip and fall clients have experienced the misfortune of falling while shopping. Whether it be at the local coffee shop or while shopping for groceries or shopping for clothes, people are injured much too often at stores while they shop. Oftentimes, store owners fail to make sure their stores are reasonably safe for customers. That is what typically causes these accidents to occur. 

 

This branch of law is called Premises Liability. It is important to keep in mind, however, that not every fall and resulting injuries are the legal faults of the respective store owner. Rather, before the store can be held liable for your injuries, it must be shown the store had notice of the condition that caused you to fall. Massachusetts slips and falls in stores revolve around this issue when trying to establish liability. 

 

Notice can be shown by a number of ways, but it must be proven before liability can attach to a property owner. For example, suppose you slip and fall in the grocery store while shopping for groceries. You claim that there was water on the floor that caused you to fall. Further, suppose the water had only been on the floor for 30 seconds before your fall. Showing notice on the part of the store would be tough under these facts because the store did not have enough time to discover and clean up the water. 

 

However, if it can be shown the water had been on the floor for more than five minutes and had become dirty from people walking through it, the notice would be easier to prove. That is because the property owner knew or should have known about the water on the floor and did nothing about it. Each case is unique with different facts. However, the one constant, generally, when dealing with falls in retail stores is that notice of the condition that caused you to fall must be proven by you or your attorney before the store can be held liable for your injuries.

 

If you or someone you know has experienced a slip and fall accident at a store, I encourage you to contact today the Earley Law Group Injury Lawyers at 617-444-7777 for your free no-obligation phone consultation.