Slip-and-fall incidents at businesses are relatively common. Improper facility maintenance at a business can very easily create circumstances where people slip or trip and get hurt. Same-level falls, including slip-and-falls, can create a variety of serious injuries.
People can break bones or develop traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). They may miss out on work, especially if their job is in a blue-collar field and they have a significant physical injury. Many times, the business may be responsible for creating an unsafe situation. If someone who slips and falls can establish that the incident occurred due to negligence, they may have grounds to seek compensation from the business.
Negligence typically means failing to do what reasonable people recognize is necessary for safety or doing something reasonable people could identify as overtly unsafe. Improper maintenance of a business facility is potentially a form of negligence. The three maintenance issues below cause a large number of slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall incidents.
Issues with entranceway rugs
One of the most common issues at an entranceway of the store is the failure to put down appropriate rugs. Rugs help absorb any moisture tracked in from outside and can help minimize dust and dirt in the interior of the store. Without rugs, puddling can occur in the entranceway that puts people at risk of slipping. Failing to clean or replace the rugs when they become very messy or saturated with water is another mistake that could lead to injury. Additionally, rugs require anchoring so that they remain in place. Otherwise, the rug itself could slip and cause someone to fall.
Failing to clean spills and other messes
Whether the business is a coffee shop or a grocery store, the potential exists for people inside the business to spill items or break merchandise. When that happens, the mess produced could lead to people losing traction. When businesses fail to maintain enough workers on hand to keep the space clean, spills can go unaddressed for hours. Anyone who encounters a spill could end up injured.
Obstacles in walkways
There are many ways that those working at a business could create obstacles that lead to people tripping and then falling. For example, workers attempting to restock empty shelves could leave cases of merchandise in the aisles of a store. People could trip over those items and end up injured. Displays, freezers and other business equipment may require electrical supply. Failing to properly secure and cover power cords could create a tangling and tripping hazard that could lead to visitor injuries.
Documenting what led to an injury and pursuing a premises liability claim can potentially help those injured in a slip-and-fall incident at a public location. If negligent facility maintenance results in an injury, a business may be liable for the economic impact those injuries cause.