Walmart Injuries and Compensation for Your Injuries
Walmart is often referred to as a “Big Box Store” and is one of the largest corporations in the world. It is in all 50 states in America, including more than 4600 stores nationwide and more than 160 locations California alone. With 700 million square feet of floor space, it is no wonder there are so many injuries every year at their stores. Every year there are millions of customers that walk through the doors and billions of dollars spent, but with those millions of customers comes the potential for Walmart liability claims.
On the other hand, if you have ever had the misfortune of being injured inside the store or outside on the property it is more often than not a complicated and litigious process to receive payment on any type of personal injury claim. If you are wondering, “Can I sue Walmart for negligence?” and you need an Walmart accident lawyer, Avrek Law Firm has specialized and top-rated personal injury attorneys to help you navigate through this difficult process and try to help get you the maximum compensation for your injuries.
Walmart Injuries Inside the Store
Walmart must take steps within reason to ensure the customers safety. Obviously, there is no way to provide 100% safety and injuries do happen, but negligence by Walmart employees can often be the cause of many of these injuries. For example, an employee can stock the inventory too high, which can cause products to fall off the shelves onto unsuspecting customers. This can also contribute to Walmart slip and fall settlements, which includes tripping over items like water, sugar, rice, oranges, milk or a plethora of other products which may have fallen to the floor.
When a Walmart employee mops the floors, they must post a “Wet Floor” sign that can be clearly seen for the safety of all. If a sign is not visible while an employee is mopping, the floor can be extremely slippery and a danger for those who may happen to step on the wet surface. If there happens to be a spill or broken bottle that has somehow found the floor at a Walmart, an employee is responsible to mop this spill up as soon as it is discovered. Often broken equipment or machinery can be the culprit of a Walmart personal injury settlement.
A customer can be injured from a sharp exposed edge on a shopping cart or a broken glass that they reach for on a shelf. Sometimes a floor mat that is placed improperly at the entrance has been known to create an adverse hazard when going into the store from the front doors. Often visitors can trip or catch their foot on the mat causing a wide range of problems. The type of injuries that can result from this can be cuts, broken bones, traumatic brain injury, serious spine and neck injuries and worst-case scenario even death.
Walmart Injuries That Occur Outside, But on the Store Property
Walmart can be just as dangerous for a customer on the outside property as it is inside. The obligation of property owners is to ensure their visitors adequate safety in the parking lot as well as inside the store. Walmart properties must be reasonably free of hazards, but often they are not. Liability and legal obligations to these factors must be met. Common negligence relating to a slip and fall, a trip and fall or a fall of any kind can lead to a personal injury claim.
Wet sidewalks with cracks in the pavement are often the cause of many of these accidents. Often water or snow can accumulate on these surfaces leaving a slippery residue making it a hazard for those entering Walmart. All owners and management have a legal obligation to be aware of these occurrences and clear the paths for a safe entry in a reasonable amount of time.
Walmart is obligated to post warning signs when necessary. Landscape hazards such as pebbles, loose sand, dirt and gravel must be properly taken care of in order to not leave a hazardous situation. Potholes, ditches, trenches and other types of openings must be well marked, paved or fenced making it clear to all. Slip and falls on these concrete paved surfaces can cause serious injuries.
Parking lots have many different types of dangers. Not only are there other visitors driving up and down the rows either looking for a parking space or trying to exit the property there are also Walmart employees and delivery drivers entering or exiting the property.
To avoid Walmart personal injury settlements, the corporation must ensure that outside the store and their entire parking lot is properly lighted. Inability to maintain proper lighting or replacing lights that no longer work properly can often cause accidents often leading to injuries. The proper signage must also be displayed for customers to safely maneuver the parking lot. Security negligence can also add to personal injury and harm outside the store. The entire Walmart property must be securely maintained allowing the customer to have a safe shopping experience.
What To Do If You Are Ever Injured at Walmart
1. Seek Medical Attention. This is the first thing you must do if any of these unfortunate occurrences happens to you. An injury of any type can be a traumatic event, and often when you are injured you may not know the depth of the injury at first. Adrenaline often takes over and you may feel ok only to find out later that you are not.
A professional medical doctor or physician can make an accurate assessment of your injuries. It is important to follow all your doctor’s advice and instructions. Make sure to attend your follow up visits if necessary and take medicine as prescribed. This will also begin the official recording of the injury and accident. If the injury is serious enough where an ambulance arrives at the location and hospitalization takes place, this will also create a record of the event. It is very important to have all of the documentation in order to increase your favorability of your lawsuit’s outcome.
2. Report And Gather Information As Soon As Possible. You must file a Walmart customer incidence report with the store manager and don’t forget to get a copy of it. It does not matter what type of injury or how severe it is. This is an important step in creating official documentation of the event with Walmart.
It is important to take pictures of the scene immediately, if you are able. If you had a slip and fall. take pictures of the area where it happened. Make sure to show the spill or product that led to the incident. Take pictures from a distance and up close to be able to remember and explain what happened. If there is an eyewitness of the accident get their name, phone number and email for later contact when needed.
Walmart has surveillance video throughout the store and with a Walmart accident attorney you can demand a copy. Along with all your medical expenses, remember to keep track of all other financial loses such as lost wages due to missing work. All this will help you with your lawsuit when the time comes to file for pain and suffering.
3. Don’t Communicate With Walmart Representatives After The Accident. This includes signing paperwork or giving statements. Walmart may try and get you to sign documents or say things that may come back to hurt you in a court of law. Remember Walmart will try their best to get out of paying damages and have many ways that their management has been trained to do this.
That is why having a Walmart slip and fall lawyer that understands how to deal with these types of corporations and situations is invaluable. This is extremely important.
4. Don’t Take Too Long To File Your Lawsuit. It is important to be well organized when filing a lawsuit but you don’t want to take too long. In the state of California, the statute of limitations is two years. This means two years from the day the incident occurs and is a strict timetable. It is best to move forward thoroughly and efficiently.
Everyone involved will have a better memory of the events that took place the closer it is to the incident and that is a benefit. As things drag on often the clarity gets cloudier for witnesses. So, before you file a lawsuit make sure you are well prepared but remember there is a legal time frame and the sooner the better.
5. Retain A Personal Injury Lawyer. Before you speak to Walmart or their insurance companies find and contact a skilled professional personal injury attorney to help you maneuver through these rough waters. Walmart is a wonderful place to shop, an amazing mega-corporation where millions of working-class consumers buy affordable products.
How to Sue Walmart for Personal Injury
When it comes to paying victims that have been injured on their property they often mishandle these claims and make it a battle for victims to receive a just settlement. An attorney of law is the best way of handling these lawsuits and providing you with the expertise to get you the maximum settlement.
If you’ve been injured while on a Walmart property, Avrek Law may be able to help. You’ll receive expert advice from a law firm with over $1 billion recovered in over 45,000 cases. Contact us today for your free consultation – we want to hear more about your case!
