Overview on slip and falls.

A question we often hear as attorneys in East Idaho from someone who fell in a supermarket or store and hurt themselves is they want to know if they have a case for damages.

Fall injuries can be serious, but proving liability can be challenging. Puddles, spills, and floor hazards might be caused by negligence, but it is not enough that one tripped, fell, and got hurt. To show the store was at fault the store must have caused the dangerous condition.
Here in Idaho Falls and Pocatello, it’s our job as attorneys to evaluate whether we believe that we can help someone hurt in a fall to recover compensation. Following are some of the important slip and fall points that we look for in evaluating premises liability.

Negligence of a Supermarket or Retail Store
A grocery store will generally not be liable to a customer for injuries suffered in a slip and fall on the store premises if:

the premises where the fall occurred were not unreasonably dangerous.

the store did not have any reason to know of the hazardous condition.

the store used reasonable care to protect customers from injury.

the customer’s own negligence was the major cause of his or her injuries.


In other words, a supermarket has to keep its floors, aisles, displays, and merchandise in reasonably safe condition so that they are unlikely to injure customers. Conditions become unreasonably dangerous when they are left unattended for substantial periods of time. Examples are a spill or puddle that gets missed and left on the floor. A patch of ice that is not removed from an entryway. A carton or display extending into an aisle below eye level. If the store should have known about such conditions—or if employees created them—the store may be liable for injury.

Rear-end car accidents.

While practicing injury law in Idaho, I have seen many different kinds of car accidents.  A large majority of those accidents are rear end accidents.  In fact, study show rear end collisions are the second most common accident, second only to backing accidents, in the United States. 

There are many causes for rear-end accidents. Drivers following too closely to the vehicle in front of them cause a majority of these crashes. Distractions also play a big role in these types of collisions. In addition, adverse road conditions and disregarding safe driving speeds can also play a part.

There are certain types of injuries that are typical to these types of accidents. For instance, being propelled forward, the vehicle occupants' unsupported heads lag until their necks reach a distortion limit and then are whipped forward. As a result of this force, many people suffer neck injuries, as well as back, shoulder, knee, spine and head trauma.

In order to reduce the risk for rear-end accidents; drivers can take precautions. For commercial drivers, written company policies and education programs about traffic safety and behind the wheel activities, such as cell phone use, are crucial. Both commercial and non-commercial drivers should remember to keep pace with traffic and avoid tailgating and distractions. These are all helpful ways to avoid rear-end collisions.

When a driver or their passengers are injured due to a rear-end crash, they may have to deal with property damage, lost time from work and medical bills. In these cases, a reputable personal injury attorney can help crash victims negotiate with insurance companies and protect victims' legal rights.