Walmart Slip and Fall Personal Injury Claim Settlements

Whether you shop at Walmart for all your needs or only stop at this retail giant occasionally, you deserve to have a safe shopping experience. Unfortunately, certain hazards that are either not immediately addressed by Walmart employees or corrected by management can lead to a slip and fall accident, resulting in serious injuries.

Slip and fall injury claims in Walmart are common due to the popularity of this retail chain and the failure of this entity to keep its premises safe. Walmart personal injury settlements tend to be substantial for a slip and fall accident. However, your Walmart slip and fall case value will vary based on many factors. Settling a slip and fall at Walmart requires showing that Walmart failed in upholding its duty to its customers, but it can be complicated, especially when you have suffered a painful slip and fall injury.

Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm understands the complexities involved in Walmart slip and fall cases. In this blog, we explain common causes of slip and fall accidents at Walmart, important steps to take for your slip and fall claim, and how a slip and fall injury lawyer at Walmart is essential in helping you navigate the legal process.

Understanding Slip and Fall Accidents at Walmart and Their Common Causes

Slip and fall accidents, sometimes called slips, trips, and falls, are not just about a person falling and suffering injuries. A slip and fall accident is something that occurs due to a hazardous condition that puts an invited guest, a Walmart shopper in this case, in danger of injury. What causes a slip-and-fall accident? Here are some of the most common causes of slip and fall claims.

Wet Floor

Without a doubt, the most common cause of a slip and fall accident anywhere, especially at Walmart, is due to wet or slippery floors. For example, a customer may have spilled body wash, and store employees may have failed to clean it up or put up signage to warn shoppers of the danger. These conditions can also arise from management’s failure to maintain the refrigeration units in the grocery area. If these major appliances leak, shoppers may not spot the danger and suffer slip and fall injuries.

Cluttered Aisles

Slip and fall accidents in Walmart are also caused by aisles that are cluttered with merchandise that needs to be put away. In the company’s desire to add more inventory and products, it has made aisles narrower, making them more difficult to navigate, especially when items are in the way, causing shoppers to trip and fall.

Uneven Flooring

Hazardous conditions may also be present when management at Walmart fails to repair loose tiles, torn carpeting, and other uneven surfaces within the store or the parking lot.

Steps to Take Immediately After a Slip and Fall Accident Occurs in a Walmart Store

If you suffer a Walmart slip and fall accident, you should make sure you take the right steps to protect your legal rights. You will be going up against a Walmart store, a large entity that has a team of litigators. While some unscrupulous people fabricate accidents and pretend they are hurt to bilk companies like Walmart out of slip and fall settlements, those who are truly injured need to provide solid proof to back up their claims.

Get Immediate Medical Treatment

If you experience a Walmart slip and fall incident and your injuries are severe, call 911 to get medical care. If you are hurt but your injuries aren’t severe enough for an emergency, you can take the next steps right away. The most important thing in Walmart slip and fall situations is to take care of your health.

File an Incident Report

Never leave the store without telling the employees and management what happened. You will need to file a report that details your Walmart slip and fall. Make sure that you get a copy of this document and keep it with your medical records.

Get Evidence

Holding Walmart stores accountable for negligence in accident claims requires having enough evidence. Hazardous conditions can be easily cleaned up and covered up in the aftermath, requiring victims of Walmart slip and fall incidents to take photos and videos of the hazards before they are cleared away. Witnesses may also be able to help provide crucial details that can make or break a Walmart slip and fall case. Make sure you get their contact information and witness statements about what they saw.

Contact a Slip and Fall Attorney

A slip and fall is part of a broader category of personal injuries known as premises liability. When you have a slip and fall claim, it is one of the most complicated types of lawsuits. It’s even harder when you have a Walmart slip and fall incident because this huge entity already has a legal team to deal with these accidents. Without a slip and fall attorney, you may not be able to recover the slip and fall injury settlement you deserve for the injuries sustained.

The Process of Filing Walmart Slip and Fall Claims

In order to start a Walmart slip and fall case, victims need to take the steps listed above. You aren’t legally required to hire a personal injury lawyer, but their advocacy will help protect your legal rights and give you a better chance of securing a fair slip and fall settlement.

Typically, once you suffer slip and fall injuries and seek medical care, you will file a claim with Walmart and provide supporting evidence of these injuries through medical records and the report filed at the time of your Walmart slip and fall injury. If Walmart settled every claim without an issue, few people would ever sue Walmart.

Unfortunately, a Walmart settlement isn’t always easy to get, especially not without a slip and fall lawyer on your side. You will face an uphill battle when trying to recover your medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages, and having legal representation ensures you have someone to hold them accountable for their negligence. If negotiations for Walmart slip and fall settlements don’t go as planned, your attorney will be ready to file your case with the court in pursuit of fair compensation.

Factors Influencing Slip and Fall Settlement Amounts

What determines the value of Walmart slip and fall settlements? There are a variety of factors involved that could affect your Walmart slip and fall settlement.

Medical Expenses

Medical expenses will include all of the medical costs you’ve incurred to treat your injuries to date, as well as any future medical expenses you may be required to pay for your slip and fall injuries. You may have medical bills for surgery, your hospital stay, physical therapy, and other medical treatments. Medical expenses can also include out-of-pocket costs for attending various medical appointments.

The more severe your injuries, the higher your medical bills and medical costs will be for the associated medical treatment needed. For example, if your Walmart slip and fall incident caused you to suffer a traumatic brain injury, head injury, or spinal cord injury, you may suffer pain on a chronic basis, which would command a higher settlement in your Walmart lawsuit. If you only suffered ankle injuries that are expected to heal in just a few weeks, then the slip and fall settlements issued for such injuries would be lower.

Liability and Negligence

The strength of your claim will also determine the value of your slip and fall settlement. Were there wet floors without warning signs or poor lighting that you captured evidence of at the time of your injury? In slip and fall cases, you can hold liable parties accountable if you can prove that they failed to take reasonable care to maintain a safe premises. Liability claims like these are a huge challenge when it comes to proving negligence because there is an opportunity for shared fault under the modified comparative negligence rule in the state. Walmart’s legal team will be looking to use that as a way to quash your settlement.

Lost Wages

If you endured broken bones, severe abdominal injuries, or other harm that caused you to be unable to work, you can seek compensation for lost income. You may also be able to pursue the future income lost with regards to your future earning ability and loss of employee benefits. With the aid of slip and fall attorneys, it is much easier to get the full value of your lost income.

Pain and Suffering Damages

While it is easier to prove you suffered injuries that were physical, perhaps requiring physical therapy, proving pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other non-economic damages is a huge challenge. These damages are far more subjective and have no dollar amount assigned to them. Generally, they are calculated by considering the severity of injuries and the length of time that pain was endured.

Evidence

Without evidence, how can you show that the accident occurred? A store employee could quickly clean up the hazard that caused you to get hurt at the Walmart store. Make sure that you have enough strong evidence to hold the at-fault party of Walmart, or any other liable parties that may be involved by contacting a slip and fall injury lawyer to help you navigate the process.

Common Challenges with Personal Injury Claims Suing Walmart

Walmart prepares for dealing with slip and fall incidents at every single one of its locations. As such, its legal team is ready to shoot down claims made against it. Here are some of the biggest uphill battles you’ll face when you seek compensation for your injuries from this entity:

Walmart Claims It Was Not Negligent

Walmart will often claim that it took all reasonable actions to ensure its store was safe. The legal team representing this big brand will often make a big show about its company policies and protocols, hoping that there will be no proof that the accident occurred and that it can be swept under the rug.

Disputing the Facts of Your Accident

Walmart also commonly deletes video footage or records over it, which means video evidence of your slip and fall will disappear. It’s one of the biggest reasons why an attorney is necessary in these legal scenarios.

Claiming Your Injury Isn’t Severe

You may have endured tremendous pain and emotional distress from your injuries, used up all your employee benefits, and are now struggling to pay for your monthly bills on top of all the added medical needs. Yet Walmart and its insurance company may tell you that your injury isn’t severe enough to warrant a sufficient settlement. When this trick is pulled by big entities and other liable parties, you need an attorney to fight for a fair settlement agreement.

Creating Claim Delays or Issuing Denials

Walmart’s insurance adjuster will drag their feet and make you chase your tail. While corporate bigwigs have no problem at all paying for their bills and expenses, you’ll sink deeper into debt waiting for your claim. Their goal is to make you desperate to take any settlement thrown your way, even if it’s much lower than the cost of your economic damages. They might also do anything they can to deny your claim over petty issues, leaving you high and dry.

Legal Rights of Victims with Slip and Fall Injuries

If you slipped, tripped, and fell at a Walmart, you have legal rights guaranteed under the law, Statute 893.54. The law permits you to seek the compensation owed for your injuries through a lawsuit. You also have the right to obtain legal representation, which is something you should not pass up. Most attorneys offer a free legal consultation that can help you learn more about your legal options and decide how you want to proceed.

Why Strong Evidence Is Crucial to Sue Walmart for Serious Injuries

The strength of evidence needed to hold Walmart responsible for these injuries cannot be overstated. Slip and fall incidents are always difficult to prove because you need to show that the property owner or manager knew or should have known of the hazard that caused this harm and did nothing to protect invited guests.

Stores often record surveillance for specified lengths of time before the footage is overwritten, making it vital to take action immediately. When you contact a lawyer, they can get this footage, if it’s not too late. Obtaining evidence may not be what you’re thinking about when you’re in pain, though taking photos of the hazard can help. You can also stow the clothes you wore in a sealed plastic bag, especially if there was something slippery on the floor. Testing can reveal the presence of this substance, which expert witnesses can explain in court, helping you to prove Walmart is liable.

How Much Money Will Walmart Settle for in a Slip and Fall Case?

If you get hurt by slipping and falling at Walmart, the amount of money you can receive will depend on the factors discussed above. Keep in mind, you will also need to prove that Walmart was negligent in its duty to keep the premises safe from hazards, and this hazard must have directly caused your injuries and damages.

Once this is proven and your damages can be properly evaluated, you could receive a fairly substantial settlement amount. However, set realistic expectations and make sure you’ve discussed the specifics of your case with a lawyer who will be able to determine what is fair for your physical, emotional, and financial losses.

Why You Need a Personal Injury Attorney for Your Walmart Personal Injury Claim

You slipped and fell at Walmart, and you may think that by going to the manager and reporting what happened, everything will be taken care of. Unfortunately, it is not such a simple case. Many victims in these circumstances quickly discover that Walmart is happy to leave them in the lurch with massive expenses from injuries that could have been avoided if this mega-retail giant hadn’t failed to keep the store safe.

Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm has stood up to big retailers, advocating for the best interests of our clients. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how we can help you.