Please accept today’s blog from the accident lawyer from Boca Raton (injury lawyer Delray Beach, accident attorney Boynton Beach, injury attorney Lake Worth, accident lawyer West Palm Beach).
There are many issues in this particular scenario. The first issue is: who broke the cranberry juice? If a supermarket employee did it, then that would make for a pretty straightforward liability case against the supermarket. If a customer did it, then a big issue would be how long it had been there for, under recent statutes here in Florida. If the spill had been there for an unreasonable amount of time, then liability may be established against the supermarket; but on the other hand, if the spill had been there for a short period of time, then there may not be liability against the market. We post the Florida statute dealing with transitory substances below. If a jury were to find fault on the part of the market, it would be expected that the market would make a comparative negligence argument. In a case like this, the market would likely argue that the customer should have seen the juice and in this case as it would be red juice, that very well may be a strong argument. To the extent that a jury would find fault, any damages would be reduced by the percentage of fault found against the customer.
I handle cases against: Publix, Winn Dixie, Albertson’s, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Aldi’s or any local supermarket.
If you have been in an slip and fall or trip and fall accident and are seeking an attorney, Gary J. Drucker is an accident lawyer who handles cases in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Please call Drucker Law Offices at (561)483-9199 or (954) 755-2120 or (305) 981-1561 – Principal office in Boca Raton as well as satellite offices in Miami, Coral Springs, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach.
Of course, a case based on a fact pattern such as the one above is unique and any other case should be judged based on the specific facts of the case. The advice in this blog is intended to be general and should not to be used as specific advice for a case, as the slightest difference in the facts could change the result. Also, this blog is, as the web site name suggests, based on Florida law and the laws of any other state could vary significantly from Florida.
768.0755 Premises liability for transitory foreign substances in a business establishment.—
(1) If a person slips and falls on a transitory foreign substance in a business establishment, the injured person must prove that the business establishment had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to remedy it. Constructive knowledge may be proven by circumstantial evidence showing that:
(a) The dangerous condition existed for such a length of time that, in the exercise of ordinary care, the business establishment should have known of the condition; or
(b) The condition occurred with regularity and was therefore foreseeable.
(2) This section does not affect any common-law duty of care owed by a person or entity in possession or control of a business premises.
History.—s. 1, ch. 2010-8.
