Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blawg

One of the difficulties most retail establishments have in maintaining their premises reasonably safe is being on actual notice of something on the floor that could cause an unsuspecting patron to slip and fall. In most situations businesses would like to trust that their employees would act quickly once they actually observe a foreign object on its floors and either immediately remove the dangerous element or place appropriate warnings such as a warning cone in close proximity to the foreign substance on the floor to alert an unsuspecting shopper of the danger lying ahead.

This law firm currently represents a victim of a slip and fall accident who fell in a local chain grocery store which we allege could have been prevented had the store employees acted more swiftly to remove the foreign substance from the ground. In our clients factual situation, she was walking down the aisle of a West Broward County, Florida grocery store and suddenly slid; due to a substance which was allowed to remain on the floor even after a store employee was allegedly aware of it and that the spill was allegedly captured on video tape. The Fort Lauderdale grocery store employee admitted to our client that she had seen the slippery substance on the ground and was able to identify it before our client slid and suffered serious injury. This is an example of having actual notice of a dangerous condition.

In fact, even after the fall occurred the negligent grocery store employee still neglected to place a warning cone or stand guard at the site of the spill until it was cleaned up; which could have caused another unsuspecting store patron to slip and fall.

For further discussion regarding this topic please feel free to contact the Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyers at 1-877-529-0444 or by email at info@schulaw.com

(Continuation from last article) We do this subconsciously, but it is a very precise calculation that our mind performs. We have determined over time that if there is even the slightest deviation in the height of one step from another while we're descending a staircase our conscious awareness is surprised, which causes many people to lose their balance, stumble, and fall. The most common injury that results from a deviation in the height of steps is a fractured ankle, likely to produce a bi- or tri-malleolar. Of course, if someone continues down the staircase there can be additional injuries to any part of the body and could include a brain injury that could even result in death. 3) Recently mopped floors that are left wet, but are allowed to be walked over without appropriate barricading or warning signs, or when food or store products are allowed to fall on the floor in grocery or retail stores. 4) Handicap ramps which are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 5) Building codes and good construction practices demand that a flooring maintain a reasonable degree of friction so as to prevent a person from slipping. One would ordinarily expect to immediately slip if standing on ice, but if a floor was polished or manufactured with a finish similar to that a fall would be almost certain to occur. There are devices that measure the co-efficiency of friction on a surface and standards are likewise maintained within the building and flooring industry to prevent someone from walking over an overly slippery surface. 6) A depression in a grassed area can catch a pedestrian unsuspecting while walking through a parking lot grass median, commercial lawn, or playing field. 7) A past client fell backwards and broke her wrists while an overly exuberant and inattentive personal trainer had pushed her too far in an unfamiliar repetitive stepping exercise. 8) Hiking and running can be inherently dangerous and prone to cause falls.

For further discussion regarding this topic please feel free to contact the Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyers at 1-877-529-0444 or by email at info@schulaw.com

Victims of Fort Lauderdale slip and fall injury accidents are all too familiar with how seriously one can be injured.

People can trip due to a variety of conditions and circumstances, such as: 1) deviations in the elevation of the flooring; 2) due to differentiations in the height of a series of steps; 3) due to foreign substances on the flooring or staircase; 4) due to inappropriate elevations in ramps; 5) due to the surface of the flooring being inherently slippery or lacking the appropriate co-efficiency of friction; 6) due to hidden or trap-like conditions such as a inconspicuous depression in a grassy area; 7) while performing exercise routines such as by falling while using a treadmill or attempting to complete continuous steps onto a platform; 8) while participating in sporting activities; 9) or for simply no good cause.

Examples of each of the above are as follows: 1) a fall caused by an inordinately raised paver in a walkway created from concrete sand based pavers or stones; 2) most municipalities and counties throughout South Florida, and in particular Fort Lauderdale, Miami-Dade, Broward County, Weston, Tamarac, Sunrise, just to name a few, have specific building codes, which require the height of each step in a staircase or stairway or movie theater or in most buildings and homes to be the same height as the preceding or following step. The purpose for this is that when we are negotiating a staircase our mind automatically anticipates the following step to be precisely at the same height as the one we just left. (To be continued)

For further discussion regarding this topic please feel free to contact the Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyers at 1-877-529-0444 or by email at info@schulaw.com

A Hollywood, Florida man was recently caused to trip and fall at the inside entrance of a Pembroke Pines, Florida check cashing store; suffering an extraordinary injury to his upper arm. The investigation revealed that the victim was injured as a result of the interior door mat being bunched up and catching the victim's foot as he immediately entered the store, violently propelling him face forward onto his shoulder.

As is common in many secured lobby retail establishments, employees are generally kept behind a safety panel - whether it be Plexiglas or metal bars. Often times, this safety barrier also acts as a visual block or partial blindfold preventing the stores' employees view of the floor way at the interior entrance to see if the mat is lying flat or bunched up and therefore potentially dangerous for customers.

One could also surmise that the employees may have seen a defective condition in the flooring mat and still chose not to come out and fix it; either so as not to expose themselves to their own personal risk or simply for lack of care.

The victim was still six weeks post surgery for a repair to his upper arm which required the surgical insertion of plates and screws. The fall caused the victims arm to fracture below the plates resulting in a horrific deformity.

Continue reading "Pembroke Pines, Florida Victim of Slip and Fall Severely Injured at Check Cashing Store!" »

On March 16, 2009, a female Minor, E.H., was viciously attacked while she had stopped to purchase gasoline at a Shell gas station. The Minor was a model teenager student and athlete, and had just left a dance practice. The brunt of this trauma could and should have been avoided by the employee of this gas station - instead it is alleged that he had done just the opposite. While she was attempting to pump gas into her car, she was approached by her dangerous assailants who began a verbal altercation with her. The gas station's employee witnessed this problem unfolding. The Minor attempted to seek the safety inside the store to the Shell station, but the store's employee allegedly locked the door, entrapping her within the grasps of her assailants and preventing her from escaping the brutal beating that ensued.

The Florida Injury attorneys for the Minor have alleged that the gas station's act of preventing the Minor from seeking safe haven inside the store at this Shell gas station was tantamount to a false imprisonment - as well as practically willing the savage beating upon this innocent victim. Amazingly, the gas station's insurance carrier is taking an apparent cavalier attitude towards this tragic matter, looking to avoid it's obvious responsibility and liabilities.

In the State of Florida a property owner, i.e., the Shell gas station, also has a duty to provide a safe environment for its invited customers. What is inconceivable is that one of its employees, who was acting in the course and scope of his employment, deliberately took action to further endanger this Minor, by intentionally locking the door, and the Minor out of safety. This act of gross negligence by one of its employees, should be acknowledged by the store and its insurance company and they should take the appropriate responsibility for this unforgivable act of indifference to our client's life and safety.

Continue reading "False Imprisonment - Florida female teenager locked out of gas station during brutal attack by employee! " »