Can You Sue a Grocery Store for Your Slip and Fall Injury in Rhode Island?
No one expects anything bad to happen to them when walking around a grocery store. However, slip and falls in grocery stores can result in injuries. If you slipped and fell during your shopping trip to pick up food or other items in a grocery store in Rhode Island, you may be entitled to seek compensation for your personal injury.
You could be able to sue the grocery store if you can prove that negligence on the part of the store or its employees resulted in an unsafe or hazardous condition, which led to your slip and fall accident. Contact a Rhode Island slip and fall attorney to determine whether you can sue the grocery store in which you were injured.
Causes of Slip and Fall Injuries in a Grocery Store
A shopper can sustain a slip and fall injury in a grocery store if any of the following hazards are present:
- Wet floor
- Slippery surface
- Damaged or uneven floor or steps
- Broken or missing rails
- Inadequate lighting
- Cracked sidewalks or potholes
- Inadequate security
- Unsecured objects on shelves or broken shelves
Can You Sue a Grocery Store if You Slipped and Fell?
If you slipped and fell while shopping in a grocery store, you may be able to sue the business if you can prove that the slip and fall accident was caused by the negligence of the store owner or its employees.
You must be able to prove the following four elements to recover damages from a grocery store:
- There was a hazardous condition on the grocery store premises.
- The property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition that led to the slip and fall accident.
- The store failed to remedy the condition in a timely manner.
- The plaintiff was injured in a slip and fall accident and suffered damages due to the property owner’s failure to remedy the hazard.
How to Establish Actual or Constructive Knowledge in a Slip and Fall Case
In Rhode Island, you are required to prove that another person or entity had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazardous condition, which led to your slip and fall accident, in order to establish fault and recover damages.
- Actual knowledge is direct and clear knowledge that a dangerous condition exists, but the owner or occupier fails to remedy or eliminate it before it causes harm to others. Actual knowledge can be established through direct or circumstantial evidence.
- Constructive knowledge refers to when a property owner or occupier fails to carry out a regular and reasonable inspection of the premises in order to identify and eliminate possible dangerous conditions on the property.
In many slip and fall cases, injured victims cannot sue the grocery store and recover damages simply because they have no evidence of the accident. In this regard, it is critical to take photographs of the dangerous condition that caused you to slip and fall immediately after the accident and contact a Rhode Island personal injury lawyer.
Our skilled slip and fall lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates can help you gather evidence at the scene of your accident, including surveillance video footage and witness accounts, to help you sue the grocery store. Call at 401-453-2700 for a case evaluation.
https://www.robertecravenlaw.com/determining-liability-in-a-dump-truck-accident-in-rhode-island/
