Store Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident in South Carolina
Retail stores have an obligation to their customers, vendors, and anyone else who comes on the property to maintain a safe environment. Unfortunately, store staff may get so busy that they neglect this duty or simply forget to remove potential hazards. Neither is a valid reason to put other people in harm’s way.
The following are common types of slip and fall injuries in grocery and retail stores in South Carolina:
- Fall due to slipping on a recently mopped floor, liquids spilled by other customers, or tracked-in rain water
- Items left in a walkway such as a pallet of food at a grocery store or tools and equipment used to set up a display in a retail store
- Merchandise or debris falling from a shelf and striking a customer
- Improper design, installation, and repair of elevators and escalators
- Poor lighting in the store or its parking lot causing a fall
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident in a South Carolina store, you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, you must do so within the three-year statute of limitations. The clock for filing a lawsuit begins from the day of your injury.
Premises Liability and Slip and Fall Accidents in South Carolina
These types of accidents fall under the general category of premises liability, which means that the owner of the property has a legal obligation to keep it safe. Even so, proving the store owner’s liability can be much more challenging than you might think. The store owner might deny that you sustained an injury on his or her property or claim that you caused your own injuries by not paying attention to your surroundings. It can quickly become a legal game of “he said, she said”. To evaluate a slip and fall case properly, South Carolina judges consider the following two rules carefully:
- The obligation to keep the property safe lies with the store owner, not the visitor. That means he or she must remove or warn of potential hazards for all visitors, including customers, tenants, personal visitors, and vendors. As an example, the owner of a grocery store must instruct employees to put up a “Slippery When Wet” sign after mopping the floor and a retail manager would be negligent to use shelving known to break.
- The store visitor must use the property as intended or a judge could deem him or her responsible for the slip and fall accident. For example, someone visiting the store for the sole purpose of holding it up may have a difficult time finding a judge sympathetic to his or her case if injured.
An important thing to keep in mind with a slip and fall accident at a store is that tracking down the owner of the property could prove challenging. That person could live across the country or even across the world and rent out the property to a local store manager. This is when you need an experienced South Carolina injury law firm like Peake & Fowler working for you.
Potential Compensation from Your Personal Injury Case
When you retain Peake & Fowler for your personal injury case, we first determine who is liable for your injuries and then try to settle the case with that person or organization’s insurance company. Unfortunately, people often fail to take responsibility for their actions or even blame the injured person for the accident, so we are fully prepared to take your case to trial if it gets to that point. Our experienced South Carolina personal injury attorneys work hard to prove the other party’s negligence so you can obtain the financial compensation you deserve. You may receive some or all of the following types of compensation if you win the case:
- Payment for all medical expenses associated with the accident, including future costs
- Payment for time missed from work
- Payment for decreased earning power or permanent disability, if applicable
- Payment for damage to personal property, if applicable
- Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and mental anguish
Contact an Experienced South Carolina Attorney at Peake & Fowler
At Peake & Fowler, we don’t recover a fee unless we win a personal injury settlement or jury verdict on your behalf. We also offer all new clients a free consultation. If you’re suffering due to someone else’s negligence, we encourage you to contact us immediately for a confidential case review. Contact our compassionate South Carolina slip and fall attorneys today at (803) 788-4370 or online.
