Slipped on wet floor

[mistole]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri. I'm a 27 year old female in good health and no prior knee injuries.

On Friday, April 27th I injured my knee in a chain gas station. It had recently rained and I was in flip flops. I walked into the gas station and immediately fell to the ground. The floor was wet and there were no caution signs. There was a mat immediately inside the door and I did step on the mat before stepping on the tile, but I still slid as soon as I hit the tile. The only person to see the fall was the cashier. She asked if I was ok and I said "I think so" She replied "Maybe I should get out the rugs". I proceeded to get my merchandise, pay, and leave. At the time, the only thing I thought was injured was my pride.

Later that night, I started having pain in my left quad and my right knee (I remember falling in a position similar to the splits). The quad pain went away after 2 or 3 days, but the knee pain is becoming more severe. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to have it checked out. When I fell, I didn't ask for an incident report or anything like that because I thought I was ok. But I know exactly when the fall occurred and surely they have surveillance cameras in a gas station. Also, the cashier could serve as a witness.

I don't want to involve a lawyer and don't want a large settlement. I just want the gas station to cover my medical expenses and time off of work to seek treatment. Where should I start? What options do I have?

 

[Willlyjo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri. I'm a 27 year old female in good health and no prior knee injuries.

On Friday, April 27th I injured my knee in a chain gas station. It had recently rained and I was in flip flops. I walked into the gas station and immediately fell to the ground. The floor was wet and there were no caution signs. There was a mat immediately inside the door and I did step on the mat before stepping on the tile, but I still slid as soon as I hit the tile. The only person to see the fall was the cashier. She asked if I was ok and I said "I think so" She replied "Maybe I should get out the rugs". I proceeded to get my merchandise, pay, and leave. At the time, the only thing I thought was injured was my pride.

Later that night, I started having pain in my left quad and my right knee (I remember falling in a position similar to the splits). The quad pain went away after 2 or 3 days, but the knee pain is becoming more severe. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to have it checked out. When I fell, I didn't ask for an incident report or anything like that because I thought I was ok. But I know exactly when the fall occurred and surely they have surveillance cameras in a gas station. Also, the cashier could serve as a witness.

I don't want to involve a lawyer and don't want a large settlement. I just want the gas station to cover my medical expenses and time off of work to seek treatment. Where should I start? What options do I have?

It may be hard to get compensated for something the business can probably say was your negligence. They could say it was an act of God as to why you slipped and fell. It wasn't like they needed to put a "Wet Floor" sign out. You should have been more careful with your stepping in view of the wet weather.

 

[Zigner]

And, you have no proof what-so-ever that you even slipped at the business. And, even if you could prove it, you will have a huge uphill battle showing that it was that fall that caused whatever injury you may have. It's been a full week + 2 weekends...plenty could have happened in between.

 

[parkersharon32]

First of all, in my point of view I see it as your negligence and secondly, you don’t want any legal involvement which is nearly impossible.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

You need to wear proper footwear commensurate with weather conditions. I would try a drug store knee support for a few days, to allow swelling to recede if it were me.

 

[Adam G]

There's negligence on the gas station's part by failing to maintain the property. There is proof that you slipped at the station because there was an eyewitness. The hearsay statement comes in because it's an admission against interest and it almost proves negligence on its own (maybe I should go get the rugs). They will claim open and obvious as an affirmative defense and try to reduce any award by arguing comparative negligence.

The problem with the case is showing that your accident caused the injury for which you've developed symptoms several weeks later. This is an uphill battle for you. My advice is to contact a local PI attorney to see if it is even worth filing suit.

There are med pay provisions in most commercial liability policies but I'm not sure that they just hand those benefits out to anybody who claims they got hurt. It's worth a shot, try asking the station manager.

 

[mistole]

Thank you for your helpful advice. I'll start with the station manager.

Responding to other comments - when I left the house that day, there was no rain in the forecast, so flip flops were appropriate footwear.

I had no way of knowing the tile would be slick. Other tile floors I had walked on that day were not slick from the rain.

I believe the station is at least partially at fault. The cashier admitted they had a safety procedure that they weren't following.

Any additional advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Ladyback1]

I had no way of knowing the tile would be slick. Other tile floors I had walked on that day were not slick from the rain.

A REASONABLE and PRUDENT person should always assume that wet floors equal slippery/slick.

A REASONABLE and PRUDENT person should know that flip-flops when there is rain involved could result in a slip and fall

A REASONABLE and PRUDENT person would exercise caution when wearing flip-flops in the rain and walking on wet floors.

 

[Adam G]

What's with all this hate for flip flops? You guys act like that the OP was wearing ice skates or something.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

What's with all this hate for flip flops? You guys act like that the OP was wearing ice skates or something.

It is not flip flop hate. It is the same as someone wearing boots, with treadless plastic soles onto ice covered sidewalks and expecting not to slip.

 

[Adam G]

Side note: got a cite for that unemployment quote in your sig?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Side note: got a cite for that unemployment quote in your sig?

When I put it there, I took generally accepted numbers for the time and did the math. Would you feel better if I added the word "about"? It was not based on a government study. The government does not want you to know the real effects.

 

[Willlyjo]

When I put it there, I took generally accepted numbers for the time and did the math. Would you feel better if I added the word "about"? It was not based on a government study. The government does not want you to know the real effects.

Actually, I think unemployment would drop quite a bit more than 3%.

 

[Adam G]

Accepted by whom I guess is my question. Even with all the undocumented workers in this country, $3 billion worth of crops rotted last year because farmers couldn't find workers to harvest it. Clearly, citizens and resident aliens are not flocking to fill these open jobs.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-28/business/ct-biz-0429-confidential-buffett-20120428_1_immigration-reform-warren-buffett-howard-g-buffett-foundation

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Those jobs can be filled legally. The farmers just need to line up migrant workers or pay a sufficient wage, with reasonable working conditions. No one ever wants to discuss the $9 - $20 p/hr jobs being filled by illegal workers.