A slip-and-fall can happen anywhere with minimal warning. People running errands may fail to recognize safety hazards, as they focus more on the facilities around them than the floor in front of them. They may then slip or trip and fall.
In cases where injured people can show that negligence on the part of a business was responsible for a slip-and-fall, they may have grounds for a premises liability lawsuit. Failing to do what is reasonably necessary for the safety of visitors is a negligent choice.
Understaffing at retail establishments is a common form of negligence that exposes visitors to unnecessary risk.
Adequate staffing is necessary for facility maintenance
Businesses often try to schedule the fewest number of employees they can without interfering with a customer’s ability to make a purchase. A company running on a skeleton crew with only a handful of workers on the clock may have employees available to operate cash registers and attend to customers.
However, they may not have enough workers working at any given time to keep the facilities clean throughout the day. It may only be after the store closes and everyone leaves that employees have time to address spills and other issues that could trigger a slip-and-fall.
The decision to reduce staffing at a busy retail establishment can result in workers deprioritizing cleaning and facility maintenance. It is possible to build a negligence claim on the basis of a company ignoring the need to address spills and other issues as they arise.
Reviewing what happened at a store can help people determine if they have grounds for a slip-and-fall premises liability lawsuit. Injured people may be eligible for compensation to cover their medical expenses and any wages they cannot earn because of their injuries.