Customer sues Costco, independent contractor for slip-and-fall accident
Surveillance footage showed that employees walked past a spill on the floor several minutes before a customer fell and sustained injuries, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, Division One said in a recent case.
In Hassaine v. Club Demonstration Services, Inc., a customer – the plaintiff in this case – was shopping at Costco Wholesale Warehouse Corporation’s Carmel Mountain Ranch location in San Diego. She slipped on a slippery substance on the floor of the aisle, fell flat on her back, and sustained injuries.
The plaintiff sought compensatory damages from Costco and San Diego-based Club Demonstration Services (CDS), the independent contractor that operated sample tables of food and non-food merchandise within Costco’s warehouses, based on negligence and premises liability.
The store’s surveillance video showed that, seven minutes before the plaintiff’s fall, a CDS employee twice walked past a dark spot that the spill made on the floor.