Slip and fall accidents can be severe. After all, 38,000 people died from falls in 2021.
WinCo is a popular grocer, known for low prices, run by WinCo Foods LLC. WinCo is also a common place for slip and fall accidents.
Some of the hazards which might call slip or trip and fall accidents at WinCo stores include:
- Wet or slippery floors
- Minimal staffing
- Food fallen to the ground
Slip and fall accidents can lead to severe injuries and lawsuits which are difficult to navigate. However, if you are considering filing a WinCo slip and fall lawsuit, we are here to help.
Call our slip and fall accident lawyers today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658, fill out this page’s free case evaluation form, contact us here or text us from this page if you or a loved one has been injured in a slip or trip and fall accident at WinCo. We’ve been handling slip and fall cases since 1990 and won’t charge you any attorney’s fees until and unless we recover compensation on your behalf. Call us today.
Proving Negligence in a WinCo Slip and Fall Lawsuit
Those who control real estate, including owners and occupiers of property, are legally obligated to ensure their properties are reasonably safe for visitors such as customers and guests. This is known as a “duty of care.” It is considered negligence when this duty of care is not met. The key to winning a slip and fall claim is knowing how to prove negligence after filing a claim.
Those who control real estate have a duty of care to certain things to make their properties reasonably safe. In general, property owners have a duty of care to:
- Perform periodic inspections, looking for dangerous conditions
- Warn visitors about any dangers or fix them so they won’t lead to injuries
Proving that a breach of duty of care occurred involves proving that:
- A property had an unsafe condition
- The owner of the property knew or should have known about the unsafe condition
- The owner failed to adequately warn about the unsafe condition or fix it
If all three of the above things are true, the owner of the property was negligent.
Some examples of dangerous conditions at supermarkets like WinCo include:
- Spilled products
- Too much floor wax
- Too much soap on the floor after cleaning the floor
- Rainwater tracked in
- Not enough lighting
- Air conditioner leaks
- Refrigerator leaks
- Slippery floors
Proving that a property owner knew or should have known about a condition can be tricky. Property owners will usually deny knowing about dangers, or deny learning about them in time to fix or warn about them prior to you getting hurt.
It can be easy when property owners or employees created dangers. In other cases, though, you’ll need evidence to prove it, like:
- Maintenance records
- Prior complaints and incident reports
- Surveillance videos or photos
- Government agency inspection reports
- Communications like text messages and emails
- Testimony from witnesses
- Expert witness testimony
- Testimony from employees and the property owner
To obtain all of this evidence, it helps to have a lawyer who knows how to obtain these things during the discovery phase of a court battle.
If you can’t prove that a property owner knew about a condition, you may be able to prove that they should have known about this. This is known as constructive knowledge. Property owners have constructive knowledge of dangerous conditions when there are enough facts available for the owner to know about it if they are reasonably careful and investigate it.
The key to proving this is proving how long the dangerous condition existed prior to injuring you.
Once you can prove that a dangerous condition existed and the owner knew or should have known about it, you need to prove the owner didn’t take reasonable steps to fix or warn about it. This involves asking questions such as:
- Is there a regular procedure in place for inspecting, maintaining and repairing the store?
- If you slipped on or tripped over an object, was the object there for a legitimate reason? Could the object have been covered or removed without much expense or inconvenience?
- Could a warning have been given, or could the owner have placed a simple barrier?
- Did broken or poor lighting – typically easy to fix – contribute to your injuries?
If you can prove all of the above, you can recover compensation in a slip and fall case. However, a defendant like WinCo can also argue that your own negligence contributed to the accident, and this could lead to you getting paid less once you settle with WinCo.
Defendants in slip and fall cases can claim that plaintiffs were negligent because they:
- Were in a place where customers aren’t expected or allowed
- Weren’t paying attention to where they were going
- Were distracted
- Were wearing unsafe or inappropriate footwear
California allows for comparative negligence in personal injury lawsuits. This means that plaintiffs can be found partially responsible for their own injuries. When this occurs, their recoveries are reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to them.
This is why it is important to enlist the help of a lawyer who can help you gather evidence, prove that WinCo was at fault for your injuries, and, if necessary, eliminate or reduce any percentage of fault attributed to you in order to maximize your compensation.
Key Evidence Needed to Win Your WinCo Lawsuit
Owners of grocery stores in California have a responsibility to keep their stores safe for customers. When these duties aren’t upheld by stores and people are injured because of this, victims have a legal right to pursue financial compensation via a lawsuit.
If you got hurt in a slip and fall accident at WinCo, the following evidence types may help support your case:
- Video footage and photographs: Video footage and photographic evidence can precisely show what dangers were present at WinCo and what happened because of them.
- Physical evidence: The shoes and clothing you wore, in addition to any materials such as debris related to your accident, should get preserved inside plastic bags and given to your lawyer.
- Lease or property records: Documents like these can prove that grocery store managers or owners were legally responsible for property when your injury occurred.
- Store incident reports: A copy of this report, if you reported your accident to the manager or store owner, could be vital to your case.
- Witness statements: Eyewitness and expert testimony can help to support your case and establish negligence by employees, the owner or the store.
- Medical records: Medical records from any treatment or examinations you received following your accident can prove your condition. Medical bills are able to demonstrate how much the injuries you suffered have cost.
- Your pay stubs or financial records: Bank records or pay stubs can show you needed to miss time from work and/or accept a reduction in pay because of your accident.
- Expert analysis: Your lawyer might work with experts such as economists, medical professionals and accident reconstruction specialists to build a strong slip and fall case for you.
It can be difficult and daunting to collect all of this evidence yourself. It helps a lot to have a lawyer by your side who is experienced at collecting evidence, especially during the discovery phase of a trial.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents at WinCo
Common reasons for slip and fall accidents at grocery stores like WinCo include:
- Unattended spills: Employees should clean up spills promptly. When grocery store employees allow spills to persist, customers may slip on them and fall.
- Lack of signage: When employees clean up spills or notice floors that are wet, they should place wet floor signs. Customers might not notice that floors are wet without wet floor signs, and falls can result.
- Uneven or loose flooring: If flooring materials like mats, tiles or carpeting aren’t adequately secured or even, they could come loose when people walk on them, possibly leading to falls.
- Obstructions or debris: When employees at grocery stores leave stacks of boxes or debris on floors, customers might have to maneuver through unsafe paths in order to get to groceries, leading to falls.
- Defective pathways or steps: If the paths, parking lots, staircases or steps leading into stores aren’t maintained properly, crumbling foundations, potholes or broken steps may all lead to falls.
How Much Is My WinCo Slip and Fall Settlement Worth?
Examples of average settlement amounts in slip and fall cases include:
| Injuries | Approximate Settlement |
| Minor – Cuts, sprains, bruising | $5,000 – $20,000 |
| Significant – Mild concussion, torn ligaments, fractures | $20,000 – $75,000 |
| Critical – Disabling injuries, brain injury, spinal damage | $100,000 – $1 million+ |
However, every case is unique and the value of your claim could be worth less or more than the above numbers.
The value of your claim will depend on what damages you suffered. Damages which we can help you recover financial compensation for include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
In general, the value of your claim will primarily depend upon the severity of your injuries. More severe injuries will generally lead to more medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, etc.
How WinCo’s Insurance Company May Fight Back
WinCo’s insurance company isn’t going to want to pay you what you deserve for your injuries. They will fight tooth and nail to pay you as little as possible for your injuries.
Common tactics they’ll employ include:
- Denying fault: WinCo’s insurer will likely try to claim that you were responsible for your slip and fall.
- Delaying responses: WinCo’s insurer will likely try to delay your claim as much as possible, hoping you simply give up on it.
- Offering low ball settlements: This is the main tactic WinCo’s insurer will employ, without fail, if you don’t have a lawyer. They’ll do this because they know you can’t sue them over a low ball offer and win if you don’t have a lawyer.
A skilled attorney like the attorneys at our firm will know how to counter these tactics.
We Can Help You Win Your WinCo Lawsuit
Our attorneys have been handling slip and fall claims for over 30 years and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients. We can help you win your case by:
- Gathering evidence
- Working with experts
- Meeting legal deadlines
- Negotiating with insurance companies
- If necessary, representing you in court
Virtually all of our cases settle out of court due to our reputation for success. Insurance companies know it’s a bad idea to take us on in court, where they’ll likely lose and have to spend big on legal fees.
The main reason to hire a lawyer after suffering a personal injury like a slip and fall injury is forcing insurance companies to offer you fair settlement amounts. They simply won’t do this if they know you don’t have a lawyer, meaning knowing that you can’t sue them and win over their low ball offers. Hiring a lawyer sends a message to the insurance company that you can and will sue them and win over a low ball offer.
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 . We will fight for you to get WinCo’s insurance company to pay you what you deserve for your injuries.
What to Do After a Slip and Fall at WinCo
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident at WinCo, you should:
- Get medical attention: Do this immediately, even if you think your injuries are only minor. It’s vital for your case to get any injuries documented by a medical professional immediately.
- Document everything: Take plenty of pictures of the accident scene and your injuries. Document the accident’s location, time and date.
- Report your accident: Report it to the store manager or owner, creating an accident record which can help with your legal claim.
- Get information from witnesses: Get contact information from any witnesses who can testify on your behalf.
- Don’t talk to insurance adjusters: WinCo’s insurance company will probably call you soon after the accident and ask for a recorded statement. Don’t talk to them. It’s very easy to say the wrong thing to an adjuster, and this can lead to them paying you less or nothing at all. Let a lawyer talk to them for you instead.
- Contact a lawyer: Our lawyers can handle every step of the legal process for you and talk to insurance companies for you so you don’t have to worry about incriminating yourself.
Statute of Limitations for WinCo Slip and Fall Claims
The statute of limitations for slip and fall cases in California is, in most cases, two years from the date of the accident. However, this time limit can be shortened or extended by some circumstances.
Call us today for a FREE consultation if you are unsure if you still qualify to file a lawsuit against WinCo. We are familiar with all laws regarding the statute of limitations and can tell you if you still qualify.
Can I File a Class Action Lawsuit Against WinCo Over a Slip and Fall Accident?
You may be wondering if you can obtain a class action settlement after being injured in a slip or trip and fall accident at WinCo.
A class action suit is not the optimal legal path for most people who are injured in a grocery store. Class action lawsuits are filed by groups of people who have all suffered similar damages with similar monetary values.
However, the amount of damages that slip and fall injury victims suffer can vary greatly from case to case. One victim may suffer a slightly fractured bone that heals relatively quickly, whereas another victim may suffer injuries which lead to permanent disability.
Because of this, it is optimal for most slip and fall victims to file individual lawsuits instead of class action lawsuits. Filing an individual lawsuit will, in most cases, lead to slip and fall injury victims recovering more money than if they filed a class action lawsuit.
Our attorneys file individual lawsuits on behalf of those injured at WinCo. Call us today for a FREE consultation if you are unsure if filing an individual or class action lawsuit is right for you.
Contact Our WinCo Slip and Fall Lawyers Today
Call us today for a FREE consultation if you or a loved one was injured in a slip or trip and fall accident at WinCo.
We have been representing slip and fall accident victims for over 30 years and have recovered over $750,000,000 for our clients. Our vast experience will let us recover the most money possible in your case against WinCo.
We won’t charge any fee for our services until and unless we recover financial compensation for you. Our only fee is a percentage of whatever we recover from WinCo.
If you can’t afford treatment for your slip and fall injuries, we can get you to doctors who will treat you without charging you for treatment until your case is over.
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658.
