Client Wins $350,000 After Grocery Store Slip and Fall Accident

It was July 2019 and our Shelbyville, Tennessee client entered a large nationwide grocery store chain in Murfreesboro to do some shopping. As she passed by an ice bag freezer, she suddenly slipped and fell to the ground. There was liquid on the floor that she could not see. Unfortunately, our client sustained fractures to her right femur and patella due to the violent fall. She needed major surgeries and months of rehabilitation.

When the grocery store denied liability, she called Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers. Businesses often deny liability hoping injury victims simply go away. Luckily, our client called us immediately after the denial and we got to work.

After completing our pre-litigation investigation, we filed suit in Rutherford County Circuit Court. In premise liability cases, a plaintiff must often prove the business had actual or
constructive notice of the dangerous condition. In this case, because we had successfully preserved video evidence, it was clear that a customer had pulled a bag of ice out of the cooler and the bag was leaking. There were mats near the ice machine, so the store was aware that liquid accumulated in that area. The customer had pulled the ice out just a few minutes before our client had slipped on the liquid.

We told our client based on those facts, that it was going to be a long, tough fight. And, did we ever fight! We fought to prove liability and all the elements necessary to win the case under Tennessee premises liability law. The fact was the grocery store corporation owed our client a duty to keep the premises safe and they breached that duty.

No matter what the grocery store’s lawyers threw at us, we kept battling. In 2022, the grocery store agreed to mediation because, after months of litigation, they now believed that they had substantial exposure. After an intense (but productive) mediation, we were able to resolve her case for $350,000. Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers held a BIG BUSINESS accountable and helped another client protect her injury rights.