Who Is Liable When a Store’s Wet Floor Has No Warning Signs?

You were walking through a store, just trying to shop, when a patch of water on the floor sent you sprawling. If there were no warning signs posted, who pays for your losses from injury and missed work? It depends on the precise circumstances, and it’s always wise to talk to a slip-and-fall lawyer here in Central Islip, NY as soon as possible to discover what all your options are and whether it’s likely you have a claim against the store. 

The Store’s Duty

Since stores invite the public in to shop, they have the highest legal duty under the law towards their visitors. They must keep the floors reasonably safe for customers by regularly inspecting them and fixing or warning visitors of hazards immediately. When a wet spot appears and no one posts a sign or cleans it up, the store can be held responsible if that condition causes an injury, if the store either created the hazard, knew about it and did nothing, or should have known about it and did nothing.

Examples

Store Created the Issue:

A store employee mops an aisle and then walks away without placing a “wet floor” sign. The store has created the danger, even if the manager isn’t aware that the employee did this. If you slip on the freshly mopped aisle, the store is liable.

Store Knew About the Issue:

A customer spills a cup of coffee in an aisle and then goes to the front to let the manager know. The store has actual knowledge of the situation and must act. If you slip during the narrow window of time between the spill and the report (in other words, nearly immediately after it), the store is likely not liable. But if you were to slip 20 minutes later, they likely would be.

Store Should Have Known About the Issue:

A customer spills a cup of coffee but does not tell the manager, and neither does anyone else. Now it all depends on how long the spill sits there. Constructive knowledge of a situation means the store should have known about it as a result of doing reasonable and normal inspections. The condition must be visible and must have existed long enough for employees to discover and correct it for the store to be liable. 

How Your Central Islip, NY Slip-and-Fall Lawyer Proves Liability

Proof usually comes from compiling and then effectively using: 

• Photos of the area
• Video footage
• Witness statements
• Store records about cleanup and inspection schedules
• Incident reports filed at the scene
• Medical records that connect your injuries to the fall

All these pieces together can be used to demonstrate that the store either created the wet floor or had enough time to act yet failed to warn of the hazard or clean it up. 

Talk Through Your Case

If you’ve slipped in a store and been injured, contact the Law Firm of Michael R. Franzese in Central Islip or Mineola, NY for a free consultation. We serve clients throughout Nassau County and across Long Island and have more than 30 years of experience in successful personal injury claims.

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