Walmarts and Walmart Supercenters allow shoppers to do the majority of their shopping in one location. These stores seem to have everything from groceries to electronics to appliances.
However, when Walmart’s managers and supervisors fail to take reasonable precautions and warn about or remove fall hazards within a reasonable amount of time, slip and fall accidents may occur. These accidents tend to happen in the grocery sections of Walmarts since food or liquid may spill out onto the floor, creating a dangerous fall hazard.
Walmart, in particular, tends to be highly aggressive when defending against personal injury claims involving slip and fall accidents. Walmart and similar corporations have experienced teams of litigation attorneys representing them. Similarly, if you suffer injuries in a slip and fall accident on Walmart’s premises, you should have an experienced attorney advocating for you.
A slip and fall accident lawyer in your area can investigate the circumstances of your occurrence, obtain evidence, and begin pursuing a claim with Walmart’s insurance company. If the insurance company denies your claim or fails to offer you the monetary damages you deserve, your attorney can litigate your court case to an efficient resolution.
Your attorney can also answer all your legal questions and guide you throughout the process, helping you maximize your monetary damages when you are up against a significant corporate interest like Walmart.
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Common Injuries in Walmart Slip and Fall Accidents
Victims of Walmart slip and fall accidents frequently suffer severe injuries. Shoppers at Walmart or other stores are especially susceptible to injuries in a fall accident because they can fall to the ground. A Walmart shopper who falls typically lands on a hard tile floor with concrete underneath, which can result in debilitating injuries.
First, if a fall victim lands on their head, they may suffer a concussion or other traumatic head injury. Fall victims also tend to land on their knees or elbows, resulting in a bone fracture or other injury requiring corrective surgery. If a fall victim lands on their neck or back, they can suffer a fractured vertebra, spinal cord injury, or permanent paralysis injury. Finally, fall victims who land on their side may suffer a hip injury or shoulder injury, both of which may require surgical procedures to correct.
If you suffered one or more of these injuries in a recent fall accident at Walmart, you should contact skilled legal counsel as quickly as possible. Your lawyer can begin investigating the circumstances of your accident and determining your eligibility for filing a claim. Walmart and other corporate entities often allege that a fall victim caused or contributed to their accident somehow. Your attorney can challenge that assertion by introducing the appropriate evidence in your case.
What You Should Do (and Not Do) After a Slip and Fall at Walmart
If you become involved in a slip and fall accident at your local Walmart, there are specific steps that you should take and certain actions that you should not take.
First, if you can do so after your fall, you should take photographs of any visible injuries and the scene of your fall accident. Specifically, you should photograph any spills on the floor and any warning placards (or lack thereof) in the vicinity. You should also take photographs of any spill on the floor or leak from the roof that might have caused or contributed to your fall accident.
Next, you should speak with any witnesses at the fall scene and obtain their names and contact information. If your case ultimately goes to trial, these witnesses may become essential and can testify in your case.
After your fall accident, report the incident to a Walmart store manager or supervisor as soon as possible. Insist upon receiving a written copy of this report. In addition, obtain contact information for Walmart corporate if the manager or supervisor does not volunteer that information.
Next, on the same day as your fall accident, seek medical treatment for any injuries you suffered. Seeking same-day medical treatment has two purposes. First, it helps prevent any injuries you sustained in the accident from worsening. Additionally, it shows the insurance company that your injuries are severe and that you prioritized your medical treatment after your accident.
Then, talk with a skilled slip and fall attorney in your area as quickly as possible after your accident.
Your attorney can gather the necessary evidence and send a spoliation letter to Walmart. This letter will prevent Walmart from seeking to destroy any critical evidence in your case, such as security camera footage that recorded the slip and fall. It may also prevent Walmart from repairing floor defects that might have contributed to your fall until you can document them. Your attorney can also handle all dealings with the insurance company and communicate with them verbally or in writing.
After suffering injuries in a Walmart slip and fall accident, you should not provide a recorded statement to Walmart or their insurance company upon request. Corporations and their insurance companies only request recorded statements when they believe there may be an issue as to fault or liability. In other words, an insurance company will only ask you for a recorded statement to see if they can find a way to deny responsibility for your accident.
Some insurance companies will even twist an accident victim’s words to get them to say something damaging to their case. Even if an insurance company representative insists that a recorded statement is required or necessary, that is not true.
Again, a knowledgeable slip and fall attorney in your area can handle all dealings with insurance companies. If an insurance representative requests a recorded statement from you directly, you should refer that request to your attorney.
Potential Monetary Damages in Slip and Fall Cases
A slip and fall accident victim who can satisfy the legal elements of their claim can recover various monetary damages from Walmart’s insurance company. Every slip and fall case is different, as are the injuries an accident victim suffers. Therefore, the total monetary damages that one accident victim receives may differ from those another accident victim receives.
Factors that influence the types and amounts of recoverable monetary compensation include the specific injuries a slip and fall accident victim suffers, the medical treatment that they undergo, the total cost of their medical treatment, whether or not they suffer a permanent injury, and whether they miss time from work following their accident, due to their injuries.
First, slip and fall accident victims can recover monetary compensation for their related medical bills and out-of-pocket costs. In addition to receiving reimbursement for past medical expenses, accident victims who suffer permanent injuries can recover their anticipated medical costs. To recover future medical damages, a medical doctor must typically provide an estimate as to the likelihood and cost of an anticipated medical procedure—such as surgery.
In addition, if a slip and fall victim has to miss time from work, they may be eligible to recover damages due to lost income. If they had to find a new job due to their injuries—and take a pay cut—they can pursue compensation for their loss of earning capacity.
Slip and fall victims can receive non-economic damages for all of their intangible losses, including past and future pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional distress, loss of life enjoyment, loss of the ability to use one or more body parts, loss of spousal companionship, permanent disability or disfigurement, and embarrassment or humiliation (such as from visible scarring).
If you suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident resulting from Walmart’s negligence, your attorney can determine your eligibility for recovering these types of monetary damages. Your slip and fall injury lawyer can also set realistic expectations as to the types and amounts of recoverable damages in your case.
What Must You Prove to Recover Monetary Compensation for Your Injuries?
Many customers frequent Walmarts and Walmart Supercenters on a daily basis. Since customers enter Walmart for business purposes, store owners owe these customers a very high legal duty of care. Specifically, Walmart must warn about or repair known dangerous conditions on their premises, including potential slip and fall hazards, within a reasonable amount of time.
Walmart managers and supervisors have a duty to regularly inspect their premises in search of potential fall hazards. If they come across a risk or other defective condition during their inspection, they must promptly warn about or repair it.
When Walmart store managers and supervisors fail to take prompt remedial action, and a slip and fall accident happens, the store may be liable to the accident victim for negligence.
In addition to demonstrating that Walmart or its representatives violated their legal duty of care, an accident victim must show that this negligence was both the actual and the foreseeable cause of their slip and fall occurrence.
In some cases, Walmart or its insurance company may allege that the defect should have appeared open and obvious to the customer. However, an accident victim can claim they had no way to notice the fall hazard—primarily if the fall resulted from a water spill or other clear liquid on the floor.
Finally, the accident victim must establish that as a direct result of their fall accident, they suffered physical injuries and damages. If Walmart claims that the accident victim’s injuries or symptoms pre-existed their fall accident, the accident victim can introduce medical testimony to the contrary. A medical expert can also establish that a claimed injury is permanent in nature and that the accident victim is unlikely to make a full recovery.
A skilled slip and fall attorney can help you satisfy all of these legal elements, ensuring your eligibility for recovering fair monetary compensation and damages. Your lawyer can also help you during settlement negotiations and pursue the maximum amount of compensation available for your slip and fall injuries.
Filing a Timely Slip and Fall Claim or Lawsuit Against Walmart
According to the statute of limitations, accident victims do not have an unlimited amount of time to take legal action.
The Illinois statute of limitations allows victims of Walmart slip and fall occurrences two years to file a lawsuit in the court system after their accident. If they fail to do so, absent exceptional circumstances, the court will prevent them from filing their claim.
To prevent this from happening, retain skilled legal counsel to represent you right away. A lawyer needs to have time to investigate your accident circumstances and, if necessary, file a lawsuit to prevent the statute of limitations from running. Generally speaking, the sooner you involve legal counsel in your case, the higher your chances of ultimately receiving a favorable monetary award for your injuries.
Call a Knowledgeable Slip and Fall Attorney Today
If you suffered injuries in a Walmart slip and fall accident, you can be sure that Walmart and its insurance company will have strong litigators and advocates on their side. You should have the same.
A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can make all the difference when it comes to pursuing and recovering maximum monetary damages in your case. Your lawyer can help you with every stage of the claims-filing, negotiation, and litigation processes and introduce favorable evidence on your behalf.
Moreover, if your case must go to a binding arbitration hearing or civil jury trial, your attorney can advocate for you in all legal proceedings. Your attorney will guide you through every step of the process, answer all of your questions, and help you achieve the best possible result, given the facts and circumstances of your case.
David Abels
Partner
David Abels has carved a niche for himself in the personal injury law sector, dedicating a substantial part of his career since 1997 to representing victims of various accidents. With a law practice that spans over two decades, his expertise has been consistently recognized within the legal community.
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