Premises Liability

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.

Ice?

Every business owner or landlord has a legal responsibility to maintain their property as a safe place free of hazards for customers, clients, and employees. They bear a direct legal liability for anything that goes wrong on their property, as long as the person who was affected had a legal right to be there.

If you’re a business owner and it’s snowing outside, you’d better make sure to shovel your walkway ASAP. Business owners are responsible for all of their property, not just the inside space. When the snow and ice pick up in the winter, owners can be held liable for slip and fall accidents on the ice outside if they fail to keep their premises safe.

Negligence

If someone slips and falls,

Supermarkets are the most frequented stores by the average American. As a result, injuries caused by store negligence are not uncommon, but neither are illnesses.

Common supermarket accidents often occur from damaged grocery carts, slippery floors, and floor mats. Malfunctioning automatic sliding doors, items falling from shelves, tripping over obstructions on floors, and uneven pavements or tar surfaces in parking lots are also culprits for frequent accidents. Finally, spoiled or tainted foods can also cause food poisoning.

There are countless regulations in the U.S. for ensuring food safety in establishments that sell food, including grocery stores. Supermarket managers and employees must also ensure customers are safe from injuries by removing potential hazards.

Premises liability laws apply to supermarkets with a duty of care, ensuring their