Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere but often happen in grocery stores. Publix is one of the most popular grocery stores in the southeast, with numerous locations and thousands of patrons walking through their doors every single day.
Publix has seen its fair share of slip and fall accidents within its stores, and its attorneys know how to handle these cases well. If you suffer injuries in a slip and fall at Publix, always seek legal representation as quickly as possible to give yourself a fair shot at obtaining the compensation you need.
Publix is a Popular Southeast Grocery Store
Publix has a long history in the southeast. This chain of grocery stores got its start in 1930 in Winter Haven, FL. Publix has since grown to be one of the ten largest-volume supermarket chains in the U.S.
Publix has over 1,300 locations in the southeast states, including Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Their yearly sales reach billions, and they employ more than 250,000 people.
Slip and Falls at Publix
Publix is no stranger to slip and fall accidents. Slips and falls are some of the most common accidents that occur at grocery stores, often resulting in serious, even life-altering, injuries to victims.
How They Happen
Slips and falls happen at grocery stores every day for various reasons. The most well-known cause of slips and falls in grocery stores is wet floors. Grocery store floors are constantly being cleaned and mopped, and products can easily fall and spill off shelves, causing slipping and tripping hazards.
Aside from wet floors, other common causes of slips and falls at Publix include:
- Broken or defective flooring
- Overturned or lifted rugs and floor mats
- Leaking freezers
- Boxes, ladders, and other tripping hazards
Falls can happen inside Publix stores and outside in their parking lot and garage areas. Outdoor falls are regularly caused by cracked pavement, inadequate lighting, and debris on walkways, among other things.
When filing a claim for compensation, it’s critical to determine what caused your fall. Knowing what caused you to fall and providing evidence to support your claims can help strengthen your case.
What Injuries Result
A slip and fall might not seem significant, but in reality, these accidents can seriously harm victims.
Some of the injuries often resulting from slips and falls include, but are not limited to:
- Contusions
- Head injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Cuts and lacerations
- Soft tissue injuries
- Sprains and strains
- Back and spinal cord injuries
- Joint injuries
Taking care of your injuries after a slip and fall is critical, as some of these injuries can result in long-term consequences. For example, suffering a spinal cord injury can lead to muscle weakness or even paralysis.
Who’s At Fault?
When you slip and fall at Publix, someone is to blame. Typically, store managers or others in supervisory roles will be at fault for a slip and fall. These individuals must keep the store safe for patrons, and failing to do so can have serious consequences.
Regardless, for a slip and fall at Publix, the manager or supervisor will not be personally liable for your fall. Instead, Publix’s attorneys will handle your claim.
Understanding Premises Liability Law
Slip and fall accidents are some of the most common types of accident cases that fall under premises liability law. Premises liability law helps victims injured on another’s property hold the responsible party accountable for their wrongdoings and recover compensation for their injuries and losses.
Premises liability law is a subcategory of the broader area of personal injury law, also referred to as tort law. Personal injury law protects injured victims and allows them to recover monetarily for a third party’s negligent or intentional actions that result in injury or death.
Premises liability laws vary by state.
In general, to have a valid premises liability claim, you, as the injured victim, must prove:
- There was a dangerous condition on someone else’s property
- The property owner or party responsible for the location was negligent
- Because of the negligence, you suffered injuries and damages
You must also prove you were legally on the premises at the time of the incident. Depending on your legal status at the time of your fall, whether an invitee, licensee, or trespasser, property owners, and occupiers owe specific legal duties to their visitors.
Visitors to Publix are invitees. An invitee is an individual invited onto another’s property for business or monetary reasons. As an invitee, the party responsible for the store owes you the highest duty of care to inspect the premises, warn patrons, and fix potential hazards.
Premises liability law can be challenging to understand, but your compensation claim depends on it. Therefore, put your case in the hands of a knowledgeable personal injury attorney with experience handling cases involving accidents at Publix.
What to Do Following a Slip and Fall at a Publix Grocery Store
If you suffer injuries after falling at Publix, you may feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to do next. What you do after a slip and fall can impact your case for better or worse. For this reason, you can take specific steps to protect your rights and ensure you can pursue fair compensation in the near future.
Get Medical Attention
Right after a slip and fall, try to assess what injuries you’ve sustained. If you cannot move or feel you’ve sustained extensive injuries, call 911 right away and request emergency medical services.
Because of how the body naturally reacts to traumatic situations, you may not feel injured following a fall, but this doesn’t mean you’re uninjured. Visit an emergency room or make an appointment with your primary physician as soon as possible to determine what injuries you’ve sustained and begin medical treatment.
Report Your Accident
As soon as you can, ask for the store’s manager and report what’s occurred. The manager or supervisor can create an incident report, which you need for slip and fall cases at Publix. Incident reports contain information regarding your fall. Be sure to tell the manager or supervisor precisely what occurred.
Ask for a copy of the accident report. If the store’s employee refuses to give it to you, your attorney can request one at a later date.
Gather Evidence at the Scene
If possible, begin gathering evidence at the scene of the accident. This is especially important for slip and fall cases, as store employees may try to eliminate evidence or clean to prevent you from taking photos or videos as evidence.
Speak to witnesses and get their contact information, and also get the store and manager’s information as well. As your case progresses and more documentation becomes available, like medical bills and records, your attorney can request and obtain additional evidence to strengthen your claim.
Consult a Slip and Fall Attorney
Time is limited to take action after a slip and fall. Depending on your state’s statute of limitations, you only have about one to six years to file a claim in court if needed. Therefore, you shouldn’t wait to seek legal guidance and begin working on your claim.
While speaking with a lawyer may not be top of your list of priorities, it should be. A slip and fall attorney can address your questions and concerns, provide much-needed advice and guidance regarding your case, and give you peace of mind during a confusing and stressful time.
What Not To Do After a Grocery Store Slip and Fall Accident
Just like there are things you should do after a slip and fall, there are also things you should avoid doing. Avoiding these things can also help you safeguard your right to compensation and avoid any potential issues with your claim.
Leave the Scene of the Incident
Falling in public is embarrassing. For this reason, you may feel the need to get up and leave the store immediately to avoid further awkwardness. Instead, remain at the scene.
You may fall and immediately get up, saying I’m fine, and I’m not hurt, but in reality, the fall may have injured you without you knowing it. If you do later discover you’ve suffered injuries because of your fall, you may be out of luck if you choose to leave the scene instead of staying and reporting the incident.
When you leave the scene of an accident, like a slip and fall, Publix can use this as ammo to deny your claim, stating they don’t have any evidence of the fall or your injuries. Regardless of how you may feel after a fall, it’s essential to stay and take the proper steps to report the incident.
Delay or Fail to Get Medical Treatment
Getting medical care is one of the most important things you can do for your slip and fall case.
Delaying getting medical care can have negative impacts on your physical well-being. You may be suffering from injuries without knowing it, and delaying your medical treatment may result in complications and long-term consequences.
When you fail to get medical treatment altogether, not only can this affect your health, but it can also prevent you from obtaining the fair monetary recovery you can otherwise get.
When you get treatment for your injuries, the healthcare provider documents everything in your medical records. These records, along with your medical bills, play a massive role in your slip and fall case, serving as evidence of your fall and resulting injuries. Without this documentation, you can have a much harder time securing a successful claim result.
Make Admissions Against Your Own Interest
After a slip and fall, be careful what you say. Anything you say, whether to a Publix employee or anyone else involved in your claim, can potentially be used against you and affect your ability to recover fairly for your injuries.
Statements against your interest can include things like I should have watched where I was going, or It’s not your fault, I’m just clumsy. Avoid making any additional, unnecessary statements after a fall.
Pursuing Compensation After a Publix Slip and Fall
In its over 90 years of existence, Publix has extensive experience handling premises liability claims. Therefore, they have a system for handling slip and fall claims.
The company handles these claims directly at its Lakeland, FL offices. When you file a claim, Publix works together with another company to investigate your accident, evaluate your claim, and attempt to settle with you.
You may get a fair settlement offer, in which case you can accept and conclude your claim. However, Publix will probably try to settle with you for much less than your case is worth. When this happens, you may need to take more aggressive action, which can include filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Publix firmly defends itself against slip and fall injury claims. They hope to scare claimants away, especially those who are unaware of their legal rights and options. When you have an experienced Tampa personal injury attorney, you can trust your lawyer will not back down from any challenges and keep your best interests in mind.
The Importance of Seeking Legal Representation After a Slip and Fall at Publix Grocery Stores
Simply put, Publix knows what it's doing. The company knows how to handle injury cases, and they often get their way. This is one of the primary reasons why it’s vital to seek legal representation as soon as possible after your fall.
Your slip and fall attorney will do everything necessary to get you the best possible case result. Hiring a lawyer can give you the peace of mind you need during a turbulent time and remove the burden of having to engage in a legal battle with a big store like Publix.
Do not wait to take action. Consult a seasoned injury lawyer as soon as possible after your Publix slip and fall. The sooner you act, the stronger the case your attorney might build for compensation.