The consequences of a slip and fall at a Walmart location may continue for months or even longer. If you were injured after slipping or falling at a Walmart in Galveston, a Galveston Walmart slip and fall accident lawyer can help you understand your rights, investigate what happened, and pursue compensation for the losses caused by your injury.
At Lowe Law, we have decades of combined experience helping injury victims pursue compensation for their losses. Our team understands the challenges injured people can face when dealing with corporate defendants and insurance companies. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation with one of our Galveston slip and fall accident lawyers.
How a Walmart Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer in Galveston Can Help Establish Liability
A successful premises liability claim generally requires more than showing that you fell inside a Walmart. You must establish that a dangerous condition existed and that the circumstances make the property owner or occupier legally responsible for your injuries.
Customers entering a retail store are generally considered invitees. Texas premises liability law can require a property owner or occupier to exercise reasonable care to protect customers from unreasonable risks that the owner knew about or, under the circumstances, should have known about. Walmart may be responsible when a customer is injured because of a condition such as:
- Liquid or food spilled on a floor
- Leaking refrigerators or freezers
- Wet or recently mopped flooring
- Merchandise left in a walkway
- Uneven flooring or damaged surfaces
- Debris or other objects in an aisle
- Poorly maintained parking areas or sidewalks
Proving a claim can require evidence showing that Walmart had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition. Your Galveston personal injury lawyer may investigate surveillance footage, employee reports, inspection records, cleaning schedules, witness statements, and other evidence that can help establish what happened before the accident.
How Texas Comparative Negligence Rules Could Affect Your Compensation
Texas follows a modified comparative negligence system in personal injury cases, where multiple parties can share responsibility for an accident. If you are found partly responsible, your damages can be reduced according to your percentage of responsibility. Texas law also generally prevents a claimant who is more than 50% responsible from recovering damages.
Consider a hypothetical case in which your total damages are determined to be $100,000, and you are found 20% responsible for the accident. Your recoverable damages could be reduced to $80,000. Insurers often attempt to take advantage of this rule by attempting to shift blame onto an accident victim to reduce or eliminate their financial responsibility.
A Galveston Walmart slip and fall accident attorney can review the available evidence and help protect you against insurance tactics designed to limit your financial recovery.
Compensation That May Be Available Following a Slip and Fall in a Walmart
A fall inside a Walmart can result in anything from relatively minor injuries to serious conditions requiring extensive medical care. Depending on the circumstances of your claim, you may be able to pursue compensation for economic and non-economic losses. To recover the full value of your claim, you will need to identify all the compensatory damages you are able to pursue.
Economic Damages
Economic damages generally compensate for losses that can be documented through bills, records, receipts, and other financial evidence. Depending on the severity of your injuries, these damages may include:
- Medical bills
- Future medical costs
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Costs associated with necessary modifications to your home or vehicle
- Property damage
Non-Economic Damages
In addition to financial consequences, a serious fall can also cause ongoing physical discomfort, emotional difficulties, and changes to the way you live your life.
Depending on the facts of your case, non-economic damages may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Reduced quality of life
The value of these losses can depend on factors such as the nature and severity of the injury, the treatment required, the expected recovery, and how the injury affects your daily life.
Exemplary Damages
Exemplary damages are different from compensatory damages in that they do not focus on replacing the losses you incurred, but rather on punishing the liable party. These damages are not available in every personal injury case. Under Texas law, exemplary damages generally require clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, or gross negligence.
Because the circumstances necessary to pursue exemplary damages are specific, an attorney must evaluate the evidence before determining whether such damages may be relevant to a particular Walmart slip and fall claim.
Deadlines for Filing a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Texas
The Texas personal injury statute of limitations generally grants injury victims a two-year window to file a lawsuit as outlined in Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, and missing the applicable statute of limitations can prevent you from pursuing your claim in court.
Acting promptly can also help preserve evidence before it is lost or corrupted. Walmart stores may have surveillance systems that overwrite older recordings, while employees and witnesses may become more difficult to locate as time passes. Documentation concerning inspections, cleaning, maintenance, or an incident report may also become harder to obtain.
Starting the process soon after your slip and fall can allow your legal team to:
- Investigate the accident while evidence is available
- Identify and interview potential witnesses
- Seek relevant surveillance footage and store records
- Document your injuries and medical treatment
- Communicate with insurance representatives
- Build evidence supporting your claim
Speak With a Walmart Slip and Fall Accident Attorney in Galveston Today
A slip and fall at Walmart can leave you dealing with much more than the immediate consequences of hitting the ground. Medical expenses, missed work, physical limitations, and uncertainty about your future can place additional pressure on you and your family.
If you were injured at a Walmart in Galveston, the experienced legal team at Lowe Law can help. Since founding our firm in 2016, we have recovered millions of dollars in damages for injured clients and have extensive experience handling personal injury claims.
Contact us today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We can listen to what happened and explain the legal options that may be available while you focus on your recovery.