Trying to take care of a few errands on your lunch break, you hastily enter a drugstore such as CVS to complete your one-stop shopping mission. You quickly move up and down several aisles to put items like a disinfectant and paper towels into the shopping cart.
The last stop puts you close to coming back late from lunch break, as the prescription drug counter has a line that runs five deep. After putting your allergy medicine into the shopping cart, you quickly walk over to the foot cushion section of the drugstore.
You never make it, as a slip and fall incident has landed you painfully on your left side.
Slip and fall events are common occurrences at drugstores. Part of the operating principles of a drugstore such as CVS is to maintain meticulously clean and well-ordered shopping aisles. Sometimes, the mantra of cleaner is better can come back to haunt a drugstore operator.
Possible Reasons for Fault
Drugstores make cleanliness and sanitation an integral part of their operating missions because of the products the businesses sell.
Although a drugstore like CVS offers daily use amenities that include insoles and aluminum foil, the products that fly off the shelves are manufactured by medical supply and prescription drug companies. The dedication to cleanliness and sanitation also presents many opportunities for a customer slip and fall incident.
Freshly mopped floors mean the liquid used to clean the surface of the floors is gone, but several slick spots remain that can upend a customer or two. Placing wet floor signs on the floor can absolve a drugstore of any negligence unless an employee placed the signs in the incorrect locations. Another contributing factor for assigning fault for a slip and fall incident comes from the restroom area.
Despite the clipboard hanging from the door that confirms an employee tended to a restroom, the fact remains that many of the hourly signed slots on a restroom cleaning clipboard are merely that: Just signatures. Restrooms represent one of the highest traffic areas of a drugstore and thus, provide many opportunities for a slip and fall incident.
Gathering Evidence to Demonstrate Negligence
Because of the inventory of expensive prescription drugs, most drugstores take store security extremely seriously. This means surveillance systems are operable not only during store hours, but also hours after a drugstore has closed.
To prove negligence in a slip and fall incident, acquiring a tape of the surveillance video on the day before the slip and fall, as well as on the day of the incident, should provide your personal injury lawyer with a good place to start for showing negligence.
In addition, the report you filed with the drugstore manager contains a description of the events leading up to the slip and fall incident.
The Importance of a Personal Injury Lawyer
It is not just the litigation skills of a state licensed personal injury lawyer that matters. Working with a highly rated personal injury attorney also helps you collect the physical evidence you need to present your case in a civil courtroom.
Your legal advocate also interviews witnesses to corroborate your account of the slip and fall incident. Most personal injury attorneys operate on a contingency fee basis, as well as offer new clients a free initial consultation to discuss the legal merits of a slip and fall case.
