Legal Question in Personal Injury in Arizona
Pregnanant slip and fall at store, treated like dirt by manager
My wife and I were in a large store, just finished paying and were headed toward the exit. Our daughter spilled orange juice and my wife slipped on it and fell face forward onto her 33-week pregnant belly. I helped her up but she was having difficulty standing so I picked her up and carried her to a chair.
No one except another store customer helped us in any way for a few minutes. A manager eventually approached, did not even ask if she was okay, just handed her a clipboard with some forms she wanted her to fill out. I called my wife's OB who told us to go to the hospital. I asked the manager to call an ambulance. Her reply was that we would pay for the ambulance, not them.
I took the forms away from my wife at that time as she was crying and in pain, no time to be filling out forms. The manager asked where the forms and her pen were. I asked her to leave us alone. Another manager told us the ambulance was on the way, and then said that if we did not fill out the forms, the store would not be liable for any claims. I asked him to leave us alone as well.
There is more to the story but running out of space here. I am 100x more upset about the way we were treated than the accident itself. Is there a case?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Pregnanant slip and fall at store, treated like dirt by manager
Depends on the damage. What store? What is the rest of the story? I"ll check e-mail tonight.
Re: Pregnanant slip and fall at store, treated like dirt by manager
Sorry for your difficulty. I was reluctant to answer your question because I feared you would think me uncaring or be offended. However, out of courtesy I will respond. Please take this in the light it is intended--to assist you.
I can only base my thoughts on the facts given here. See an attorney if you want an opinion based upon all the facts.
The fall was not caused by the store. Your daughter spilled the juice. You do not say her age, so I don't know if there was a lack of supervision of the daughter or not. In any event, it was spilled juice. I see no negligence on the part of the store for the fall. Is there any? Is there something missing here?
Many people slip and fall in stores. I am sure that being in advanced pregnancy it is easier to fall. I do not know what shoes were being worn. I see many fall cases where slick leather soles or flip-flops or sandals were being worn by the person who fell.
Store employees are trained to not give too much attention to someone who falls, and not act like the fall is their fault. They are trained to get a written statement, because some people embellish the event later if they decide to make a claim. Stores are sometimes less than courteous--the employees are not always the sharpest tools in the shed anyway. Managers who call an ambulance may commit the store to pay for something they may not accept liablility for. Stores hire tough attorneys to fight anyone who makes a claim, and often have a "no settlement" policy. Sometimes a fall is due to a faulty floor, condition of the floor, or careless supervision of the floor to keep it clean. Sometimes the person falls on liquid dropped by another customer in a fashion that the store would not notice it even with regular checking. Many times the people who fall are not the most agile.
The question here is, what caused the fall? Was there a defective condition on the floor that the store should have prevented? Was the store negligent? Did the store cause the fall? Did they prevent speedy medical care, and was the person injured as a result?
There is no accounting for service that is less than courteous, and discourtesy is not generally actionable in court. If so, the courts would be flooded with plaintiffs claiming discourtesy from another. There are exceptions in extreme cases, and for extreme, negligent behavior that harms another, outrageous behavior that emotionally harms someone, etc. Again, see an attorney. Or choose to not shop there anymore.
Good luck and best regards. Seek a consultation with an accident attorney for a full answer. The answer here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship, your identity is anonymous even to us, and this answer if for educational purposes only. Specific rights should be explored with an in-person consultation with a lawyer. I hope your wife is well and her pregnancy goes forward with success.
James D. Jenkins
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