What happens when someone slips and falls at a business?

All it takes is a spill that someone doesn’t notice to turn “running a few errands” into a disastrous experience. One moment, they’re reaching for a single-use produce bag in the grocery store. Then, they are down on the ground, staring up at blinding fluorescent lights next to the organic avocados.

Stores that host hundreds of people have to contend with inevitable mess. People spill things and track rain, snow or dirt inside, and often those issues go ignored for some time. It also always seems like there’s never anyone working when a customer needs help, which is definitely a concern if it leads to spills going unaddressed.

What happens after a visitor slips and falls at a business or other public location?

They may end up seriously injured

What people refer to as a slip-and-fall will usually be a same-level fall, meaning that there is no significant elevation involved. A slip-and-fall may not seem that dangerous when compared with a tumble down the stairs, but it could still lead to a brain injury or a broken bone.

People can also develop soft tissue injuries that cause severe pain and limit their ability to work. Sometimes, slip-and-fall incidents at stores lead to someone breaking their phones or otherwise incurring significant property damage costs.

They may have to make a claim

Thankfully, premises liability rules allow those injured in a slip-and-fall scenario to request compensation for their losses if the situation meets certain standards. The premise liability coverage many businesses carry will often pay for someone’s medical treatment, property damage expenses and lost income after a slip-and-fall at a business.

However, to have a claim, the person who falls will generally need to have proof both that they suffered financial losses because of the incident and that negligence on the part of the business contributed to them getting hurt. If better cleaning practices or equipment maintenance would have prevented the whole situation, then the person who fell may have grounds for an insurance claim or civil lawsuit.

Pursuing a premises liability claim is often the best option for someone who has been seriously injured because of inadequate maintenance or other negligence on the part of a business.