You step into a retail store in Joplin or Columbia, expecting a safe shopping experience, only to have your day—and potentially your health—derailed by a sudden slip or trip. A fall in a store, whether due to a wet floor, uneven tile, or misplaced merchandise, is more than just an embarrassment. It often results in painful, costly injuries like broken bones, concussions, or serious back trauma.
When an injury occurs on business property, your right to compensation falls under premises liability law. This area of law dictates the legal duty a property owner or business has to keep their premises reasonably safe for customers. Knowing your rights is the first step in holding a negligent store accountable.
The Store’s Duty of Care to Customers
In Missouri, customers who enter a retail store are classified as “invitees.” This status is critical because it means the store owes you the highest duty of care. It is not enough for the store to just warn you of known dangers; the law requires them to be proactive in maintaining a safe environment.
This duty of care involves several key responsibilities:
- Routine Inspection: Store employees must regularly inspect the premises for potential hazards.
- Fixing Known Hazards: They must promptly fix any dangerous conditions they discover, such as loose flooring or damaged displays.
- Warning of Unseen Dangers: If a hazard cannot be immediately fixed (like a temporary water leak), they must place clear and conspicuous warning signs.
A business breaches its duty when it knew or should have known about a dangerous condition but failed to address it within a reasonable amount of time. Proving this breach is the most challenging, yet essential, part of a slip and fall claim.
What Constitutes a Dangerous Condition?
Slip and fall injuries are rarely an “accident” in the legal sense. They are typically caused by an underlying dangerous condition that the retail store failed to manage. In our work representing injured clients in Missouri, we frequently see cases involving:
Spills and Foreign Substances
A fresh spill in the dairy aisle, tracked-in rainwater by the entrance, or leaking freezer cases are common culprits. If a store’s policy requires employees to check the area every 15 minutes, and a spill sits for an hour, that lack of reasonable inspection and response can prove negligence.
Trip Hazards and Poor Maintenance
Merchandise or boxes left obstructing an aisle, torn or bunched-up mats near the entrance, or uneven, broken flooring that should have been repaired all qualify as hazardous conditions. A store has an ongoing responsibility to maintain its physical structure to prevent tripping.
Inadequate Lighting
In areas like parking lots, fitting rooms, or storage aisles, poor lighting can obscure a hazard, essentially turning a minor risk into an invisible one. The lack of proper illumination can be a direct cause of a fall, establishing a clear path to premises liability.
How Your Own Conduct Affects Your Claim in Missouri
A common tactic used by retail store insurance companies is to argue that the injured customer was at fault for their own fall—that the hazard was “open and obvious,” or that the customer was simply distracted.
Fortunately, Missouri follows a pure comparative fault system. This legal rule means that even if a jury finds you were partially responsible for the fall (for example, if you were looking at your phone), you can still recover compensation. Your total damages will simply be reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found 25% at fault for the accident, you can still recover 75% of your awarded damages. Our job is to fight back against the store’s attempts to inflate your percentage of fault to protect your recovery.
The Need for Swift Legal Action
After a serious slip or trip in a retail establishment, the store’s priority is not your well-being; it’s protecting their bottom line. They will move quickly to clean up the spill, fix the hazard, and destroy or erase video footage that would prove their negligence.
You have a limited time to file a personal injury claim in Missouri. If you’ve suffered injuries and losses such as extensive medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, you need an advocate who can immediately launch a full investigation. At Sticklen & Sticklen, we dispatch investigators to the scene, secure witness statements, and issue spoliation letters to preserve crucial evidence before it vanishes.
Don’t let a negligent business evade responsibility for your injury. If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall or trip and fall in Joplin or Columbia, contact our team today for a confidential consultation. We are ready to help you pursue the full compensation you deserve.