When you go shopping in downtown Charlotte, you expect retail stores to keep their walkways clear, their entryways dry, and their lighting in good working order. When that doesn’t happen, you can trip over discarded merchandise, slip on a wet floor, or stumble over uneven flooring and suffer severe injuries.
If you slip and fall because store management failed to fix a hazard, you may be able to file a premises liability claim. However, you’ll need evidence that the business breached its duty of care and that their inaction directly caused your injuries. This blog explains how premises liability works in North Carolina and how a personal injury lawyer at Edwards Injury Law can build a slip and fall case that holds them accountable.
What Counts as a Slip and Fall in a Retail Store?
Slip and fall accidents inside retail stores usually happen when the property is not kept safe for customers. These hazards, which tend to be preventable, result from failures in cleaning, inspection, or maintenance protocols. If the store owner or staff ignored a dangerous condition during regular walkthroughs, the business may be responsible for any resulting injuries.
- Wet Floors: Customers often slip on unmopped water or spilled liquids in produce sections, restrooms, or near coolers. If no warning signs are placed and the spill is not cleaned quickly, that delay can support a liability claim.
- Tripping Hazards In Walkways: Boxes, carts, or merchandise that block paths can create trip hazards for unsuspecting customers. If employees leave these items unattended, the property owner may be liable.
- Loose or Shifted Mats: Entry mats that bunch or curl can cause visitors to catch their feet and fall. Store owners and managers are expected to secure floor coverings properly to avoid this risk.
- Broken Or Uneven Flooring: Missing tiles, cracked concrete, and loose transitions between floor types are known causes of serious trip injuries. When these hazards are left unrepaired, personal injury claims may follow.
- Poor Lighting: Dark stairwells, corners, or storage areas make it hard for customers to see where they’re walking. Insufficient lighting contributes to both slips and falls and may reflect poor property management.
- Icy Walkways and Parking Lots: Outdoor areas under the store’s control must be salted, shoveled, or blocked off during winter conditions. If ice is ignored, the property owner may be held accountable.
North Carolina Premises Liability Rules for Retail Businesses
Retail stores have a legal duty to maintain reasonably safe premises for customers. Under North Carolina premises liability law, business owners owe their patrons the highest duty of care. That includes conducting regular inspections, correcting hazards, and placing warnings near known risks.
To establish liability in a retail fall case, you must prove:
- A dangerous condition (e.g., a slippery floor) existed on the premises.
- The store knew or should have known about the unsafe condition.
- The store failed to address it within a reasonable amount of time.
- You were injured as a direct result of that failure.
For example, if a customer drops a jar of liquid that spreads across an aisle and ten minutes pass without cleanup, a resulting fall could support a strong liability claim. Courts consider how frequently inspections occur, what protocols the store uses, and whether the hazard was visible or concealed.
How Do You Prove The Store’s Liability?
Even if a hazardous condition exists, liability depends on whether the store had a reasonable amount of time to find and correct it. North Carolina law requires you to prove the store either knew about the risk or should have known through regular inspections. This standard puts pressure on the injured person to act quickly and preserve evidence.
- Surveillance Footage: Security cameras may show how the hazard appeared and how long it remained before the fall occurred. This footage can also confirm your behavior in the moments before the incident.
- Incident Reports: When employees document the event, those records can support your version of what happened. Reports created at the time of the accident often contain valuable admissions or details about store conditions.
- Photos Of The Hazard: Images taken immediately after the fall can show puddles, debris, poor lighting, or missing safety signs. Clear visual evidence can shut down later denials by store representatives.
- Witness Statements: Other shoppers or store workers who saw the condition or the fall may confirm that the hazardous condition had existed long enough to be noticed and fixed.
- Cleaning Logs and Inspection Records: These documents reveal how often the store checks for hazards. If gaps appear or logs are incomplete, that may support your claim.
- Internal Policies and Staff Training Records: Some claims are strengthened by showing that the store either lacked proper safety protocols or failed to enforce the ones they had.
Proving store negligence frequently depends on how quickly the right records are preserved. Logs, footage, and witness information may only exist for a short time before being deleted or forgotten. An experienced attorney can secure these records before they’re gone.
Common Retail Defenses After a Slip and Fall Accident
Retailers and their insurers frequently dispute liability by focusing on your actions rather than their omissions. The problem is that in North Carolina, even a small share of fault can prevent you from recovering financial compensation. Stores tend to rely on well-established defenses to avoid paying claims, but these arguments can be countered with strong evidence.
- Lack of Knowledge: The store may claim the hazardous condition appeared only moments before your slip and fall accident and that no staff member had time to discover or address it.
- Open and Obvious Hazard: The store might argue that the risk was clearly visible and that you should have avoided it. If warning signs were present, they’ll say you failed to take care of your own safety.
- Customer Distraction or Misconduct: Retailers may try to show that you weren’t paying attention, were distracted by a phone, or wore inappropriate footwear. These arguments are commonly used to invoke contributory negligence and avoid liability.
- Blaming Another Customer: Some stores claim a third party caused the hazard moments before the fall, leaving no time to react. Without proof to the contrary, this tactic shifts attention away from poor maintenance practices.
Each of these defenses depends on the store’s ability to shift fault and confuse the timeline. The longer they control the narrative, the harder it becomes to hold them accountable. With solid documentation and early witness support, your slip and fall attorney can build a strong case that stays on track.
What You Should Do After a Slip and Fall
Your actions in the minutes and hours after a fall are critical. Even if you’re in pain or embarrassed, you need to document what happened and make sure the store can’t erase evidence or change the narrative. Here’s what you should do:
- Report the fall to store management before leaving the premises. Ask them to complete an incident report and request a copy if they allow it. If they refuse or deny the report, make a note of who you spoke to and what was said.
- Take photographs of the hazard and the surrounding area. Include the exact spot where you fell, any puddles or debris, warning signs (if present), and any other condition that might have contributed to the accident.
- Collect contact information from any witnesses. Bystanders or store employees who saw the fall (or noticed the hazard beforehand) can support your version of events later.
- Seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Even if you think the injury is minor, a delayed visit can give the insurance company a reason to question your claim or suggest the fall didn’t cause your symptoms.
- Avoid giving a recorded statement to the insurance company. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that downplay the store’s responsibility or highlight your own actions. Wait until you’ve spoken with a lawyer before making any formal statements.
- Contact a personal injury attorney who handles premises liability claims. Early legal help can secure time-sensitive evidence and prevent the store from erasing footage or altering records that might support your claim.
How Edwards Injury Law Can Help
Slip and fall cases usually involve large corporate retailers that are trained to deny or delay injury claims. These businesses have legal and insurance teams working to limit what they pay out, but when you hire our personal injury law firm, we take the following steps:
- Preserve Evidence Immediately: Our team sends legal notices that require the store to hold on to security footage, cleaning records, and inspection logs. Without this step, key evidence may disappear within days.
- Investigate the Hazard: We identify what caused your fall and how long the problem existed. We also review whether the store followed its own policies and whether staff missed inspection opportunities.
- Document Your Injuries: We collect medical records, medical bills, treatment timelines, and wage loss reports to connect your injuries to the fall. This documentation helps justify your claim for damages.
- Manage All Communication: You don’t need to deal with adjusters or legal representatives from the store. We handle those calls, keep track of deadlines, and protect your claim from mistakes that could reduce your compensation.
- Prepare For Trial If Needed: If the store refuses to settle or denies fault entirely, we prepare your case for court. Our slip and fall lawyers are ready to present evidence to a judge or jury when negotiation fails.
North Carolina gives you a three-year deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit. That time period starts on the date of the fall, and if you miss the deadline, the court will likely throw out your case, no matter how clear the store’s fault was. By acting quickly, you give your lawyer the best chance to protect key evidence. You also show the insurance company that you’re serious about pursuing your claim. That alone can shift how they handle your file and how they approach negotiations.
Speak to a North Carolina Slip and Fall Lawyer Today
Retail stores are responsible for keeping walkways and aisles safe for customers. When they ignore hazards or delay cleanups, people get hurt. You may lose income, need long-term care, or struggle with pain that changes how you live.
If you’ve been injured in a store, you don’t have to manage the claim yourself. At Edwards Injury Law, we help people in Charlotte and across North Carolina stand up to large retailers. We don’t charge upfront, and you only pay if we recover compensation for you. To learn more or discuss your options, reach out for a free consultation today.
