El Super is a grocery store chain with 64 stores which operate in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
Slip and fall accidents are, unfortunately, common and costly, and they often occur in grocery stores such as El Super.
Grocery stores are quick to deny fault or shift blame in these accidents. However, the lawyers at our firm can advocate on your behalf, perform settlement negotiations, and secure fair compensation for you.
How much compensation you recover in your case will depend on the experience of your lawyers. Our slip and fall lawyers have been handling cases like yours since 1990 and have recovered in excess of $750,000,000 for our clients. We have the expertise and experience to secure fair slip and fall settlement amounts for our clients.
If you’ve been injured and can’t afford treatment for your injuries, we can help you obtain medical treatment on a lien. The doctors we refer you to won’t charge you until your case ends.
We only charge a percentage of any compensation we recover, so we won’t charge you any fee until we win your case.
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you or a loved one was injured in a slip and fall accident at El Super.
How Much Are El Super Slip-and-Fall Settlements Worth in California?
Slip and fall cases do not have a single “average” payout.
The values of slip and fall cases vary significantly based upon injury severity, how strong the evidence is of the property owner’s negligence, the financial impact upon the victim, and the property owner’s insurance policy limits.
Minor injuries may settle from $5,000 to $20,000.
Permanent or severe injuries may settle for $100,000 or more.
| Injuries | Approximate Settlement |
| Minor – Bruising, cuts, sprains | $5K – $20K |
| Significant – Fractures, torn ligaments, mild concussion | $20K – $75K |
| Critical – Spinal damage, brain injury, disabling injuries | $100K – $1,000,000+ |
Factors which can affect the value of your slip and fall case include:
- Injury severity: Injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, concussions, permanent damage or broken bones lead to larger settlements in slip and fall claims.
- Medical expenses: Medical costs, such as the costs of future, current and past medical treatment, will directly impact the value of your slip and fall injury claim.
- Negligence: If you wish to recover compensation, you need to demonstrate that the actions or inaction of El Super (such as not cleaning a spill up) directly led to your fall. Strong evidence which shows the carelessness of El Super (like not fixing a hazard) increases the value of your case.
- Documentation: Evidence like medical records, witness statements and photos are critical for putting together a strong case.
- Long-term impact: Settlement amounts are significantly raised by permanent disabilities or a need for life-long care.
- Contributory negligence: If you are found partially at fault for your accident, your payout may be reduced. An experienced attorney at our firm can fight to minimize or eliminate any percentage of fault attributed to you to maximize your financial compensation.
- Your lawyer: The skill and experience of your slip and fall lawyer will impact the size of your settlement.
Potential Damages in an El Super Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit
Our lawyers can help you recover financial compensation from El Super or the property owner’s insurance company.
Damages which we can help you recover compensation for include:
- Medical bills: Our legal representation includes recovering compensation for all medical costs related to your accident, including past, present and future costs. This includes the costs of surgeries, medical treatments, hospital stays, doctor visits, medications, rehabilitation and physical therapy. Compensation for medical costs is usually the bulk of the average settlement.
- Lost wages: We calculate lost wages and make sure our clients are fully compensated for any wages they’re unable to earn due to their injuries.
- Loss of earning capacity: If you’ve been left permanently disabled by your injuries, we’ll make sure that El Super or the property owner’s insurance coverage pays for the loss or reduction of your earning capacity that resulted.
- Pain and suffering: We’ll make sure you’re fairly compensated for the physical pain, mental suffering and emotional distress you suffered due to your injuries. This includes pain you suffered at the accident scene as well as ongoing chronic pain.
A lawyer at our firm can help to maximize your settlement via negotiating with skill. If the insurance company refuses to settle for what you deserve, our law firm will represent you in court and force them to pay you what you’re entitled to.
Grocery Store Slip-and-Fall Settlement Examples
Those who slip and fall on someone else’s property, like in a grocery store such as El Super, can recover settlements ranging from just a few thousand dollars to several million dollars.
Examples of payouts in grocery store slip and fall cases include:
Target Slip and Fall Settlement: $2.1 Million
This 2017 verdict was in a case where a woman slipped and fell in Target.
The woman allegedly slipped and fell on a wet floor while pushing her cart, tearing her hamstring. Her injury allegedly required surgery and over 200 physical therapy sessions, leaving her with chronic pain.
The lawsuit alleged that, while mopping up a soda spill, employees carelessly mopped a part of the floor outside of the area which was cordoned-off afterwards.
The plaintiff allegedly slipped and fell after passing warning cones.
Target’s attorneys argued that the store provided ample guarding and warning of the spill, and that the floor was adequately slip-resistant when wet.
The jury found that the accident was the result of Target’s negligence.
Walmart Slip and Fall Settlement: $15 Million
This case involved allegations that a trucker slipped and fell on a grease spill at the loading dock of a Walmart.
During the case’s opening statements, Walmart’s attorneys denied that a grease spill happened, claiming they did not have any documentation of a spill.
The plaintiff’s attorneys then presented city records which referenced a grease spill at the Walmart, as well as its investigation and cleanup.
An assistant manager for Walmart then remembered the spill, and corporate documents regarding the spill were produced.
The award was appealed by Walmart, who claimed that the award was because of “jury prejudice.”
However, the court stated that this prejudice was “invited” by Walmart initially denying the spill, then backtracking in court.
CVS Parking Lot Slip and Fall Settlement: $425,000
This case involved a woman allegedly slipping and falling on gravel in a CVS parking lot, fracturing her humerus and needing total shoulder replacement surgery.
An investigation of the parking lot discovered crumbled and eroded parking bumpers which led to small pieces of concrete all over the parking lot.
CVS, its property manager and a maintenance company responsible for parking lot cleaning were sued.
It was discovered that CVS chose to replace just half of the parking blocks to save money, leaving the other blocks crumbling.
The case was settled out of court for $425,000.
Who’s Liable in an El Super Slip and Fall Accident?
The question when determining a grocery store’s liability is “Why did I slip?” rather than “Did I slip?”
El Super may be liable if you slipped on a spill which was ignored for a long time, or a wet floor that wasn’t marked after being cleaned up.
However, if you slipped on a drink that a shopper spilled just a few seconds prior, then El Super will probably not be liable.
To prove that El Super is liable for your injuries, you need to prove:
- Cause: Can you prove that your fall was caused by something in El Super?
- Knew or should have known: Was the dangerous condition known about by El Super, yet they chose to ignore it? If the condition wasn’t known about, should it have been, since a reasonable person would have discovered it by doing regular checks?
- Action or lack of action: What did El Super do, or not do, about the dangerous condition?
Proving liability in these cases can be complicated. An experienced lawyer at our firm can help you prove that El Super is liable for your injuries and maximize the recovery you obtain from El Super.
Top Causes of El Super Mexican Market Slip-and-Fall Accidents
Common causes of slip or trip and fall accidents at grocery stores include:
- Spilled drinks
- Leaky refrigerators
- Recently mopped floors without warning signs
- Poor lighting
- Crowded displays
- Loose rugs or uneven floors
- Items which fell from shelves
- Broken sidewalks or parking lot surfaces
Statute of Limitations for California Slip and Fall Accidents
The statute of limitations for slip and fall injury cases is two years from the date of injury, in most cases.
This means that you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit, and failure to file within this time period can forever bar you from recovering financial compensation.
There are exceptions to the two year statute of limitations and, crucially, some exceptions shorten the time limit.
In addition, a failure to act quickly can lead to evidence not being preserved, and since these cases are complex, the sooner you call a lawyer, the more time your lawyer will have to build a strong case for you.
The best way to maximize your chances of success is to call a lawyer today for a free case evaluation.
How Hard Is It to Win a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
It is often difficult to win a slip and fall lawsuit since you need to prove that a property owner was negligent, and the store’s insurance company will probably aggressively fight the claim.
Most slip and fall accident cases settle out of court. However, those that reach trial have lower success rates compared with other personal injury case types.
To recover fair compensation in a slip and fall case, you have to prove four elements of negligence:
- Duty of care: The owner of the property owed a duty to you to make sure their store was reasonably safe.
- Breach of duty: The owner did not take reasonable steps in order to warn of or address a hazard. You need to demonstrate the owner knew or should have known about a hazardous condition.
- Causation: The hazardous condition directly caused your fall and your injuries.
- Damages: You suffered harm that is measurable, like medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering and emotional distress
These cases can be difficult to win because of common defenses that are used by insurers and property owners:
- Comparative negligence: They’ll argue the accident was partially or entirely your fault. If they’re successful, this may reduce or even eliminate the compensation you’re eligible for in your personal injury claim.
- “Open and obvious” hazard: They may claim the hazardous condition was obvious enough for a “reasonable person” to see and avoid it. However, this defense can fail when the owner should have been able to anticipate that you’d be distracted, such as by a store display.
- Lack of notice: They may argue they didn’t have prior knowledge of the dangerous condition, and lacked a reasonable amount of time to take care of it.
- Trivial defect: They may argue the dangerous condition was too trivial to be considered unreasonably dangerous.
- Pre-existing condition: They may argue your injuries weren’t caused by your fall but rather were a pre-existing medical condition.
Unlike car accident cases, which often involve police reports, slip and fall cases often lack official documentation. Vital evidence can disappear quickly:
- No immediate witnesses: It can be difficult to prove your case if surveillance footage doesn’t exist and nobody saw your fall.
- Lost evidence: Surveillance footage could get deleted in mere days, and property owners may clean hazards up quickly.
- Lack of documentation: Evidence such as previous complaints or maintenance records can be hard to obtain without a prompt investigation.
What to Do After an El Super Slip and Fall
You may be wondering what to do after a slip and fall accident in El Super.
You should:
- Seek medical attention: Document all injuries and prioritize your health. Follow all instructions from your doctors. It’s important to seek medical attention quickly after the accident and follow your treatment plan. Failing to have your injuries documented quickly can lead to an insurer claiming that something other than your slip and fall caused your injuries. Failing to follow your treatment plan can lead to an insurer claiming your injuries must not be as bad as you’re claiming if you’re not following your treatment plan.
- Report the accident: Report the incident to the manager of the store. Ask for an incident report copy.
- Document the scene: Take videos or photos of the place you fell, any hazardous conditions, and your injuries.
- Collect witness information: Slip and fall victims should get the contact details of everyone who witnessed their accident.
- Keep your clothing and shoes: Preserve the clothing and shoes you were wearing. Don’t clean them. They can end up being evidence.
- Track expenses: Keep all of your medical bills, records of lost wages, and receipts.
- Avoid making statements: Don’t make statements to the store or the store’s representatives about your accident, aside from reporting the accident.
- Don’t accept a settlement too quickly: Be careful about accepting a quick settlement from El Super or its insurer. Initial settlement offers will usually not be adequate to cover all of your damages such as future medical bills.
- Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer: A lawyer can lead you through the legal process, protecting your rights and explaining what the best course of action is in your situation.
How an Attorney Can Help With Your Case
The lawyers at our firm can help you win your personal injury lawsuit by:
- Providing an expert assessment: An experienced personal injury attorney at our firm can evaluate your case’s specifics to provide an accurate idea of what a fair settlement would be in your case.
- Handling your complex case: The average slip and fall case involves legal principles such as negligence and causation. A lawyer at our firm can effectively navigate these complicated issues.
- Negotiating with insurers: Our lawyers have vast experience negotiating settlements with insurers and countering their common defenses to make sure that our clients are fairly compensated for their serious injuries.
- Locating important evidence: An attorney at our firm can investigate your case and help to obtain as well as preserve critical evidence, like video footage from the store, which could be crucial in terms of establishing liability.
- Hiring expert witnesses: If necessary, we can hire expert witnesses in order to strengthen your claim.
Contact Our El Super Slip and Fall Attorneys Today
Our premises liability lawyers have been handling cases similar to yours for over 35 years and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of clients.
We won’t charge you any fee until we win your case, and we can get you to doctors who won’t charge for treatment until the end of your case.
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you or a loved one was injured in a slip or trip and fall accident at an El Super store.
