Big Lots Slip and Fall
Big Lots is a retail store present in numerous locations in California. The stores are prime locations for injuries from trip and fall accidents and incidents involving broken or dangerous merchandise. These large retail stores are often difficult to win compensation from, but you can still take legal action with the help of an attorney. If you were injured in any of the Big Lots stores across California, contact the Downtown LA Law Group today. We will help you with your claim and ensure that you are fully compensated for your losses.
Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents at Big LotsThere are a numbers of ways that slip and fall accidents can happen at Big Lots. Some examples include:
- Slipping on wet floors that had no sign indicating they were wet
- Tripping on broken stairs
- Falling due to faulty or broken handrails
- Tripping over discarded merchandise in the store
- Falling or tripping due to baskets and hand carts in the aisles
- Potholes, cracks, and other damages on the sidewalk or in the parking lot at the store
- Unsecured falling objects from shelves or objects falling from broken shelves
Slip and fall accidents can lead to a large number of injuries, especially if you are already compromised o weak in some areas. A few of the types of injuries that can happen include:
- Broken bones
- Concussions
- Sprains
- Strains
- Muscle damage
- Knee and hip injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Scarring
- Crushing injuries
- Herniated discs
- Coma
- Paralysis
- Death
Premises liability claims can be filed if the property owner was negligent. Property owners can be negligent in one of three ways, which are:
- There was a hazard present on the property that was not addressed or warned about, that the owner knew about
- The property owner created the hazard
- The property owner was not aware of any issues or hazards but reasonably should have been aware
Only one of these points must be true to enact your claim. It is also important to distinguish what type of guest you were. If you were a paying customer in a Big Lots, you would be considered an invitee. Invitees are afforded the highest level of care, as they are in the store for a mutual benefit. Licensees are social guests and are afforded slightly less care. Trespassers are individuals with no legal right to be on the property, and are afforded the least amount of care, but still cannot be directly harmed in some cases.
Big Lots could have been negligent in a number of ways. If the employees did not place wet floors signs, or if they allowed the merchandise to simply spill out into the aisle, they could be held accountable.
How to Sue Big Lots for Injuries from a Slip and FallSuing Big Lots for injuries from a slip and fall accident can take time. You should gather all your evidence from the get go after the incident, or have someone help you in any possible.
First, you should go to the hospital for treatment of your injuries. If you wait too long to go, your claim will greatly suffer. Further, your injuries may actually worsen.
While at the hospital, request copies of medical charts, receipts, insurance billing reports, doctor’s statements, test results, and more.
You should take pictures of the injuries you suffered to show the extent of the damage. You should also take pictures of the area in Big Lots in which you fell. The store may also have security cameras and video footage showing the incident. You should request these tapes, but it could be difficult to acquire them, as the store will not want to give you such evidence if they were in the wrong.
If there were any eyewitnesses who saw the slip and fall happen, you should interview them for their statements and testimonies. The more perspectives and support you have, the better your claim will hold up against the insurance agent.
You will need to file an incident report with Big Lots and inform them of the injuries you suffered. This will show that there was an accident on file, and the store will not be able to deny that anything happened due to no records existing.
Finally, you should reach out to an attorney to handle your case for you. You may have suffered serious injuries, and if you try to move forward with your claim, you could delay your recovery time. Legal action requires a lot of time, money, and commitment, and the stress can cause you to make poor decisions and not operate at your best mental capacity. Our attorneys can handle all the legwork while you focus on healing. We are well versed in premises liability laws and we have sued Big Lots for compensation for slip and fall damages before.
Statute of Limitations to Sue Big Lots for InjuriesCalifornia has a 2-year statute of limitations on premises liability lawsuits. If you do not file a lawsuit within that time period, you will not be able to receive any compensation for your damages. The statute of limitations is in place so that no party will have the advantage; the company will not be free from punishment because of a short time limit, but the plaintiff will not be able to wait years before suing. It is important that you act quickly after you were injured so that your evidence will be preserved and it will not be lost or forgotten.
There are some scenarios in which the statute of limitations can be extended past the 2-year deadline. If you were under the age of 18 years old at the time of the injury, you cannot sue without a guardian representing you. You could thus wait until you turn legal age to sue by yourself, and the statute will count down on your birthday. There is also the possibility that an individual could be left mentally or physically incapacitated after the incident, which would cause the statute of limitations to be frozen until he returns to health. Additionally, if the defendant has left the state, the statute would not count down until he returns to California.
Many times, victims do not sue on time, and they end up unable to receive the compensation they deserve. It is important that you speak with a lawyer to learn how much time remains on your claim. We will gather your proof for you and submit it on time so that the deadline will not come and go. Your claim will not expire if you work with our firm to sue Big Lots.
$500,000
$600,000
$599,000
$420,000
$460,000
$699,000
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$500,000
Slip and fall lawsuits can be valuable depending on the extent of your injuries. If you were seriously hurt, the insurance agent will make you a larger offer than if you were not that badly damaged. The main factors that the insurance agent will use to determine the value of your claim include the injuries you suffered, how impactful the injuries were on your career and daily life activities, the severity or permanence of the injuries, your age, your job type, and how responsible you were for the incident.
We will do everything in our power to secure you the coverage you need for your losses. Some of the compensation we aim to bring you includes:
- Medical bills and expenses, including surgery, hospitalization, ambulatory transportation, medication and prescription drugs, physical therapy and rehabilitation, future treatments and procedures, and more
- Lost income and wages, such as benefits, commissions, tips, and more, as well as future missed income
- Property damage for any personal belongings that may have been lost or broken in the slip and fall
- Pain and suffering damages for emotional trauma, anxiety, fear, PTSD, psychological anguish, and more
- Wrongful death damages if a loved one or family member died in the incident, which will result in funeral and burial fees, loss of consortium and relations, loss of inheritance and savings, pre-death medical bills and pain and suffering, and more
Big Lots should give you every cent you deserve if you were injured in one of their stores because of negligent action.
The Firm for YouThe Downtown LA Law Group is known as one of the most highly rated law firms in California. We have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution for our clients throughout the years, and we know the best methods for winning slip and fall injury lawsuits. We will sue Big Lots and ensure that you’re rightfully paid for your losses. If we have to go to court to defend your case, we are more than willing to do so.
Call today to set up a free legal consultation to discuss your claim. We will tell you everything you need to know about the case and the law, and if you have specific questions, we will answer them. We will also give you more details about our zero fee guarantee, which states that you will not have to pay any money to our firm throughout the case. If we win, the money for our services comes from the settlement we bring to you from the company. If we lose, you do not owe us anything, and we eat the losses of the case.
To sue Big Lots for injuries from a slip and fall accident, contact the Downtown LA Law Group today.