What begins as a routine trip to the grocery store can become a big problem when a slip-and-fall accident occurs. Legal liability for such an incident in a grocery store in North Carolina depends on whether a person was lawfully on the property or a trespasser. The store must use reasonable efforts for the safety of shoppers and other individuals who are lawfully on the premises.
What causes slip-and-fall accidents?
Personal injury accidents occur in a variety of ways in a grocery store. Common hazards include:
- Spills
- Crates and pallets left in aisles
- Falling objects
- People and carts running into each other
- Broken flooring and concrete surfaces
Liability for slip-and-fall accidents in grocery stores
A grocery store is expected to take reasonable efforts to keep the property safe. That means owners have a duty to correct dangerous conditions that they are aware of. Grocery store legal liability may result if store representatives are aware of a danger or should be aware and they do not correct it or provide shoppers a fair warning.
Open and obvious conditions in slip-and-fall liability
A dangerous condition in a grocery store may be open and obvious to customers. Having a condition that a reasonable person can identify and take precautions to avoid may be a defense. While open and obvious conditions may be a defense for someone lawfully on the property, a grocery store has little legal duty to warn a trespasser of potential dangers.
Grocery store liability
Grocery store slip-and-fall liability depends on the circumstances of the accident. Understanding the various legal factors may help a victim determine their rights to file a personal injury claim. When a grocery store doesn’t take reasonable steps to identify and remedy dangerous conditions, the property owner may owe a slip-and-fall victim financial compensation.