42 Year Old Mother Fractures Knee at Walmart and Hires Attorneys Dell & Schaefer

Walmart is one of the world’s largest corporations and they have hundreds of stores throughout Florida. Our slip and fall attorneys have represented hundreds of individuals that have been injured while attempting to shop at Walmart. Since most Walmart stores are very busy, there are often dangerous conditions that can quickly develop throughout the store. In our case, A 42 year-old mother of two injured her right knee when she slipped and fell in a large puddle of water at Wal-Mart. She went to Wal-Mart with her three year-old daughter to buy her husband a gift. It was raining outside and Wal-Mart employees were instructed to bring in all of the shopping carts and place them in a carpeted area inside the store, adjacent to the front entrance. The carts were lined up all along the edge of the carpet allowing some of the water that was on the carts to pool up outside of the carpeted area.

Wal-Mart creates a slipping hazard

Our client entered the Wal-Mart and headed directly for the shopping carts. As she attempted to remove a cart from the stack, her right foot stepped off of the carpeting and slipped in a large puddle of water that accumulated adjacent to the carpeting. Her right knee struck the ground, causing her to fall onto her side into the puddle. She laid in the puddle as her young daughter looked on in horror.

Mother of two is rushed to the hospital

She remained on the floor for several minutes writhing in pain. Eventually, Wal-Mart employees were able to lift her off of the ground and call an ambulance. The paramedics arrived and rushed her to the hospital where an x-ray of her right knee was taken. The x-ray revealed a fractured patella. The ER physician prescribed pain-killing medication and instructed her to seek follow-up care.

Slip and fall victim hires the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer

Risk management from Wal-Mart promised our client that they would help her get medical attention and pay for the bills. They notified her that they would call her within a few days with more information. Our client waited a few days but received no calls from Wal-Mart. She began calling risk-management but received no response. Eventually, she realized that Wal-Mart was unwilling to help her. She immediately hired the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer to represent her.

Slip and fall attorneys Dell and Schaefer battle Wal-Mart

Our attorneys made the claim against Wal-Mart and began to investigate. It became clear that Wal-Mart employees were negligent in the placement of the shopping carts. They knew these carts were wet from the rain and allowed the rainwater from the carts to accumulate inside the store on the tile flooring next to the carpet.

Dell and Schaefer’s attorneys prepare for lawsuit

Initially, Wal-Mart’s attorneys denied any liability arguing that our client should have been more careful while getting her cart. Our attorneys argued that Wal-Mart created a dangerous condition by placing the carts on a carpeted strip directly next to puddles of water, knowing that customers would think it was safe to retrieve their shopping carts.

Slip and fall attorneys Dell and Schaefer settle the case

Wal-Mart finally changed its position regarding liability just prior to the filing of a lawsuit. Our attorneys were able to negotiate a confidential settlement which enabled our client to pay her current and future medical bills as well as receive compensation for her current and future pain and suffering. She was pleased with her settlement and reported that her knee healed well with minimal down time.