A grocery store can become dangerous when liquid, food, packaging, or another substance ends up on the floor. Customers may not see the hazard until it is too late.
A fall can result in a serious injury, particularly for someone who lands on their head, back, hip, or shoulder. When the condition could have been discovered and addressed through reasonable inspection and maintenance, questions about the store’s responsibility may arise.
Knowing what to do immediately after a grocery store fall can help preserve important evidence.
Report the Fall to Store Management
The first step is to notify a store employee or manager.
Ask that the incident be documented. Provide the basic facts about where and how you fell, but avoid guessing about how long the hazard was present or who created it.
The store may have its own incident-reporting procedures. Try to obtain information about the report for your records.
Take Photographs of the Hazard
If you are physically able to do so, photograph the condition that caused the fall.
Take pictures of:
- The substance or object on the floor
- The surrounding area
- Nearby shelves
- Warning signs or cones
- The aisle where the fall occurred
- Your clothing and footwear
- Visible injuries
Try to capture both close-up photographs and wider images showing where the hazard was located.
A store may clean the area immediately after the accident, meaning the condition could look completely different later.
Look for Witnesses
Other shoppers or employees may have seen the fall or noticed the dangerous condition beforehand.
Ask witnesses for their names and contact information if possible.
A witness may be able to explain how long the substance appeared to be on the floor, whether employees walked past it, or what happened immediately before the fall.
Surveillance Footage May Be Important
Most modern grocery stores use surveillance cameras throughout their premises.
A camera may have captured:
- The condition on the floor
- Employees walking through the area
- Customers encountering the hazard
- The fall itself
- What happened afterward
Surveillance footage can be especially useful when the existence or duration of a dangerous condition is disputed.
Because businesses may routinely overwrite older recordings, identifying potentially relevant footage quickly can be important.
What If the Store Says It Did Not Know About the Hazard?
One of the important questions in a premises liability case is whether the store knew about the dangerous condition or should reasonably have discovered it.
For example, evidence might show that an employee saw the spill and failed to clean it up.
In another situation, the evidence may suggest that the condition existed long enough that reasonable inspection procedures should have discovered it.
The circumstances matter. A store is not automatically responsible for every substance that appears on a floor moments before a customer falls.
Seek Medical Attention
A fall can cause injuries that are not immediately obvious.
Head injuries, ligament damage, fractures, and other conditions may become more noticeable hours or days later.
Seek appropriate medical attention and tell the medical provider that the injury resulted from a fall.
Keep records of medical appointments, bills, prescriptions, diagnostic tests, and other treatment.
Preserve Your Clothing and Shoes
Do not immediately throw away or clean the clothing and shoes you were wearing when you fell.
They may contain evidence of the substance or condition involved in the accident.
Place them somewhere safe and preserve them in their post-accident condition when practical.
Alabama Slip-and-Fall Claims Depend on the Evidence
A fall inside a grocery store does not automatically establish liability.
The circumstances surrounding the hazard, the store’s knowledge, inspection practices, employee conduct, and available evidence may all become important.
That is why photographs, witnesses, surveillance footage, medical records, and incident reports can matter so much.
Talk to a Birmingham Slip-and-Fall Attorney
If you were injured after slipping and falling in a Birmingham grocery store or elsewhere in Alabama, Shaun Capps Injury Law can review the circumstances of the accident and help determine whether a premises liability claim may be available.