Whether you love a good bargain or enjoy shopping for exotic produce, it can be fun to walk around the grocery store. During inclement weather, you may worry about slipping in the parking lot and injuring yourself in a fall. Your odds of suffering a serious injury, though, do not end when you walk through the market’s doors.
While spilled goods pose a slip-and-fall risk anywhere in the grocery store, you are most vulnerable to losing your footing in the produce section.
Slippery fruits and vegetables
Many fruits and vegetables have thin outer layers that keep juices inside. If a customer or store employee knocks a juicy fruit or vegetable onto the floor, it may break. Even after someone removes the damaged items from the floor, slippery liquids may remain. By posting a wet floor sign, employees can easily alert you to the danger.
Produce misters
Grocers around the country use water misters to make fresh produce more appealing to customers. They also count on these misters to increase product weight, forcing you to pay more for your leafy greens. Regrettably, a malfunctioning or faulty mister may cause water to puddle on the floor. Because most produce sections have slick tile or concrete floors, puddled water is always a slip-and-fall hazard.
Cluttered aisles
To move produce and other products quickly, grocery store employees may erect special displays or otherwise clutter the aisles in the produce section. While federal and state regulations have specific requirements for the width of market walkways, your store’s owner may push the limits. Put simply, if you do not have ample room to walk freely, you may trip, slip or fall.
Grocery store owners and their employees have a legal obligation to provide a reasonably safe place for you to shop. Ultimately, if a breach of this duty causes you to suffer a catastrophic injury, you may be eligible for substantial financial compensation to help you manage your post-injury life.