WOMAN SUES HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE IN SLIP AND FALL INJURY CASE

A New Jersey woman is suing a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area Home Depot in Federal Court alleging that the store is liable for a slip and fall accident she had back on Sept. 8, 2012. According to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, she arrived at the front of the store in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, after her husband dropped her off. The plaintiff maintains that it was raining when she exited the car, and that she began to rush toward the front entrance of the store in an attempt to avoid getting soaked when she stepped into a large amount of standing water, lost her balance and fell down.

The plaintiff says that she fractured her sacrum, sustained a herniated disc and suffered general pain in her neck and back as a result of theslip and fall accident. The plaintiff is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages over $150,000 in a claim filed on April 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The plaintiff’s lawsuit says that Home Depot had ample notice that there might have been water accumulating at the front of their stores because it had been raining rather consistently throughout the day. The lawsuit also points out that Home Depot could have eliminated or reduced the water hazards prior to the accident as demonstrated by actions taken by the store immediately after the fall. The suit says that after the plaintiff’s fall Home Depot mopped the floor and placed mats down over the hazard area along with caution signs.

If you know someone who has suffered injuries as a result of store’s failure to eliminate hazardous conditions on the walking surfaces of their establishment, then they may be entitled to sue for medical costs and lost wages. Also, it is important to remember that these types of premises liability claims must be made in a timely fashion to avoid foreclosing on their opportunity to file the lawsuit.

Source: The Pennsylvania Record, “Customer who sustained fractured sacrum, herniated disc during fall on wet floor sues Home Depot” Jon Campisi, Apr. 28, 2014