Be Wary of Florida retail store tactics to get signed releases

Several of Florida’s large retail stores have been using shady tactics in attempting to lure recently injured customers into signing releases which would forever prevent these customers from making claims for reimbursement of injury. Though getting an injured party to sign a release as soon as possible is not a new concept, it has come to the attention of our injury attorneys that more and more large retail stores are becoming very aggressive in their attempts at gaining signed releases.

Large grocery store promises to pay for health care in exchange for release

Just recently, a young woman was injured at one of Florida’s largest grocery stores when her toe became trapped by a piece of metal protruding from the side of an escalator within the store. The piece of metal sliced her toe open and ripped her toenail off. The injury was extremely painful, causing the young woman to scream out loud and writhe in pain. She hobbled to her car to get a first aid kit in an attempt to treat her wound. After looking at her toe closely, she realized she would need medical attention and decided to report her injury to the manager of the store. She was mostly concerned with getting medical attention and preventing others from getting injured. The manager created an incident report. The young woman then left to get medical treatment. A risk manager for the store immediately called the young woman and offered to pay her medical bills.

Grocery store risk manager offers money and medical care

The young woman had her wound examined and dressed by an ER physician at the hospital and returned to the grocery store to meet with a risk management employee. The employee offered her $300 cash to pay for medical bills and offered to pay for possible future medical bills as well. The young woman was surprised by this offer and was inclined to accept the cash as it seemed the grocery store really cared about her injury and wanted to help her. The young woman inquired about how this arrangement would work. She was told that she only needed to sign off on a couple of documents and she could receive the cash right then and there. It was after she was presented with several documents which required her signature that she began to question the motives of the store. The young woman asked for some time to think about it and promptly called the injury lawyers at the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer.

Injury attorneys Dell and Schaefer review the offer made by retailer

Our attorneys were able to review the offer made by the risk manager for the large grocery retailer. The documents presented to the young woman, if signed, would have released the store from any liability whatsoever. Included within the stack of documents was a release of liability. The release was presented to the young woman as a document that must be signed in order for the store to release cash to a customer. When presented that way, it seemed relatively harmless and appeared to be appropriate procedure. After all, why would anyone just offer another person money without getting a receipt to prove the transaction? Further review of the document revealed that it was actually a release and if signed, the woman would not only be barred from ever bringing a claim for injury, she would also be prevented from having any further medical attention paid for by the store. Other documents presented to the young woman included an authorization for release of medical information as well as several other documents seemingly intended to mask the release and authorization. It appeared that the young woman was inundated with paperwork in the hope that she would blindly sign the documents, not realizing that she was in fact, signing a release.

Dell and Schaefer inform injured woman of her rights

Luckily, the young woman had the wherewithal to realize something was wrong with the situation that she was presented. She reported initially thinking that the retailer was very kind for offering medical treatment and money. After thinking a bit more though, she realized that nobody just gives someone money for free. There had to be a catch. Our attorneys were able to interpret the proposal for the young woman and after being informed of her rights, she realized she had almost made a big mistake. Her injuries are now worsening. If she had accepted the offer, she would never get the medical attention she truly needed.

Beware of retailer tactics

If you or someone you know becomes injured in any retail establishment, beware of underhanded tactics. Never sign any document without fully reading the document and ensuring that you are not releasing the store from liability. If there is any part of the document that you do not understand, do not sign it! Call the injury attorneys at the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer. Our attorneys will informed you of your rights and protect them to the fullest. You need an experienced lawyer on your side to ensure that you get every form of compensation you deserve.