Slip And Fall Caused By Leaking Water From Overfilling Plants At Home Depot

Sadly, you would think that a large company like Home Depot would appreciate the value of water and the hazards it can create. However, they appear to be ignorant of these facts or possibly happy to overlook them to save a few minutes of labor each day. Patrons who suffer slip and fall injuries in Home Depot garden centers typically relate the same stories. There are constantly hoses lying in the aisles and across walkways. In addition, the pavement is often wet, and in many areas, it is covered with thick, green moss or algae that is as slippery as wet glass.

While the staff and management at these stores might claim they have no other option to keep the plants alive other than overwatering, that is not actually true. There are many different options, from using a drip system to slowly water each pot to placing the plants in troughs filled with water and allowing the plants access to the water via soil absorption. However, these processes are rejected, and the Home Depot garden center staff continue to blast water into the pots and create more hazards, slip, and falls caused by leaking water from overfilling plants.

Sadly, the setting of the slip and fall injury incidents in most Home Depot garden centers only compiles the harm suffered by victims. In most cases, the flooring is concrete, and there are many large hazards near the plants where victims often slip and fall. The impact with the concrete, large boxed planters, sharp landscape tools, and bricks or pavers used in landscape projects usually cause significant injuries to the Home Depot garden center slip and fall injury victims, which can include:

• Fractures, broken, or shattered bones
• Injuries to soft tissue connecting joints or a complete joint dislocation
• Severe lacerations or puncture wounds that can include injuries to internal organs and internal bleeding
• Harm to the back, neck, and spinal cord
• Soft tissue and nerve damage
• Injuries to the delicate skin on the face or harm to the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or teeth
• Head injuries that could range from a skull fracture or concussion to a traumatic brain injury

What makes these injuries even more upsetting to the victims is that most could have been prevented if the staff dedicated a bit more time and effort to carefully watering plants. The added time to properly water would save copious amounts of water and the possibility of life-altering injuries for many shopper in these garden centers.

All property and business owners have a legal obligation to protect the safety of guests to their business or property. Premises liability law explains the steps that must be taken to protect the safety of guests, including eliminating safety hazards and inspecting the space for any issues that could result in harm. Duty of care then defines the level of action expected when a safety concern is located or reported to the staff by a patron.

Duty of care states that the staff at Home Depot must act in a manner that is at least the same care as would be provided by the average prudent person when facing the same issue or safety hazard. For example, if you see water spilled on the floor in your home, you clean it up to prevent anyone from slipping and falling. In addition, if you cannot clean up the spill, you would eliminate access to the area until the flooring is dry and safe for others to walk on without a harmful fall.

If the Home Depot staff does not address the slip and fall hazards in the garden center, they can be deemed negligent in their duty of care. In addition, if that negligence is later found to have caused or contributed to a patron being injured, Home Depot can be held liable for the victim’s injuries and losses.

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