Grocery shopping is likely to be part of your regular routine. You may be irritated by long check-out lines and you may worry about the rising cost of groceries, but you probably are not concerned about your safety.
Most of the time, you will be able to leave the supermarket without any physical injuries. However, you need to know that you are at risk of suffering a slip and fall accident injury in a supermarket, and you need to know what you can do to protect yourself if you are hurt.
Why Slip and Fall Accidents Occur at Milwaukee Grocery Stores
It isn’t just the often-blamed banana peel that can make supermarket floors dangerous places for slip and fall accidents. In addition to slippery fruit, shoppers should be aware of:
- Wet floors. Floors may be wet for a variety of reasons. For example, a floor may be wet because it was just cleaned, because of inclement weather outside that leads to wet shoes inside, or because something was dropped that made the floor wet and slippery.
- Liquid spills. Milk, oils, soups and many other liquids can be found down nearly every aisle of a grocery store. It doesn’t take much for one of these products to be knocked off the shelf and pool on the floor. It is store management’s responsibility to quickly clean these spills.
- Dry spills. Slip and fall accidents in a grocery store are often thought to be caused from liquids. This is not always true. Dry goods, such as grains, cereal, and chips can be just as dangerous as liquids.
- Cleaning supplies. When employees or cleaning crews clean the store, it is important that they do so in a thorough manner. Failing to do so may leave the floors wet and slippery.
- Poor maintenance. It is important that shoppers be able to walk through a store without falling or tripping over objects or defective flooring. Lifted tiles, torn carpet, and other obstacles caused by poor maintenance should be repaired by the store’s maintenance team as soon as possible—and warning signs should be posted immediately.
- Trip hazards. Fallen merchandise, things dropped by shoppers, and other debris can cause you to trip and fall in the aisles of the supermarket.
- Broken shopping carts. A cart with a stuck wheel or a wheel that falls off can cause you to lose your footing and suffer a slip and fall injury.
Of course, other hazards may also exist, and it is always important to use caution and heed warnings such as wet floor signs.
What to Do After a Fall
What you do in the minutes after a slip and fall accident will depend on how badly you are hurt. In most cases, the accident should immediately be reported to the store manager, who may come over to talk to you. It is important not to apologize for the accident, not to refuse medical help, and not to sign anything that the manager asks you to sign. Instead, you should provide your name and contact information to the manager and ask that the manager or his or her designee call an ambulance or a friend or relative so that you can get immediate medical treatment.
After you leave the grocery store, a doctor should see you. Some injuries, such as a broken bone, may be readily apparent. Other injuries, including some types of brain injuries, may not be readily apparent. Thus, it is important to have a physical examination and to follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations.
Injured in a Slip, Trip or Fall? Contact Our Milwaukee Slip and Fall Lawyer for a Free Consult
Were you or a loved one recently injured on someone else’s property due to negligence? If so, then it is time to contact our slip and fall lawyer in Milwaukee for a free consultation. Our team has been practicing law in Wisconsin for over 50 years, and have seen every type of slip, trip or fall injury.
To schedule a consult with our experienced Milwaukee slip & fall lawyer, start an online chat, fill out our convenient contact form or call 1 (800) 800-5678 today!