Help, I Got Injured at Kroger! Can I Sue for Compensation?
With over 2800 stores across America and 60 million customers accessing these stores each week, Kroger has become a retail giant that is loved and relied upon by millions of families each day. However, Kroger’s journey to massive success started over a century ago, when it was a small grocery store in Cincinnati, Ohio opened by founder Bernard Kroger who saw a gap in the retail market as far as quality products and the provision of excellent customer service was concerned. Bernard reinvested profits into his business while maintaining the business’s commitment to quality and customer service, and before long, he was able to expand steadily across the Midwest at the turn of the century. In the 1920’s, Kroger acquired the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain, and this strategic move helped cement its position in new retail markets. In addition, Kroger was the first store to implement self-service stores, allowing customers to select their own items instead of relying on store clerks to help them. This helped the company cut down on labor costs, and this, coupled with manufacturing its own products under private labels, thereby offering customers cheaper choices allowed it to expand into a national brand known and loved by millions.
As the decades went by, initiatives such as the Kroger Plus loyalty program and the implementation of in-store pharmacies as well as listening to customer recommendations made it into the retail behemoth it is today. That said, Kroger is not without its share of controversy. Due to the massive amount of foot traffic, the potential for injury is an everyday concern, with hundreds of individuals suffering injuries such as back injuries, head injuries, assaults, sprains, strains, broken arms and legs. The legal principle of premises liability law exists for this specific concern, and it helps injured individuals seek compensation if it is determined that the supermarket’s negligence was the proximate cause of your injuries. That said, these types of cases are complex, and proving negligence as well as standing up to the insurance company is not for the average unsophisticated layman. It is important to seek out legal advice before you take any steps with regard to seeking compensation, and we’re here to help with that.
Are you looking for a best Kroger injury attorney? If you went shopping at any Kroger supermarket branch and got injured, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For close to three decades, the aggressive and compassionate injury lawyers at McCready Law have helped thousands of injured individuals just like you receive compensation for their injuries after becoming victims of another party’s negligent or egregious actions. Our best Kroger injury lawyers serve all injured customers countrywide, and we operate a bilingual office (hablamos Espanol). These cases are nuanced, and Kroger management or their insurance company will attempt to offer you a payout which is usually tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars lower compared to if you had legal representation before approaching them or vice versa. Our Kroger slip and fall lawyers will engage with management on your behalf, negotiate a favorable settlement to make sure all your damages are compensated, and it this doesn’t pan out, we will litigate your case on your behalf so you can get the compensation that is commensurate with your injuries without compromising on a number of factors.
Kroger injury lawsuits are taken up on contingency fee basis, and what this means is that there are ZERO UPFRONT FEES should we decide to represent you, as we will only levy our legal fees at the very end of the process, and only if we’ve recovered compensation on your behalf. If you slipped and fell at Kroger, were attacked due to poor security, or suffered a back or head or any other injury, please give us a call NOW at 312-444-0214 for your 100% FREE legal consultation. Our intake team is standing by.
Types of Kroger Customer Injuries
Here’s a list of some of the most common injuries associated with slips and falls at Kroger:
Sprains and Strains
Slip and fall events usually involve a customer loses their footing and falls. When they subsequently try to catch themselves, they put excessive and unnatural strain on the muscles and ligaments found around the joints, leading to injury. The ankle is often the first point of contact with the store floor, which means that most individuals will sustain ankle sprains. These types of injuries can be mild to severe, and can even lead to complete ligament tears. Symptoms typically include bruising, pain, swelling and limited mobility, and one may be out of commission of a couple of weeks to months
Fractures
Broken bones or fractures are also associated with slips and falls at Kroger supermarkets. Hitting the ground as one falls can lead to breaks or cracks in the bones, especially in the arms, wrists or hips. The wrists are particularly affected as individuals instinctively reach out to brace themselves to break the impact of the fall. In older shoppers, hip fractures are of significant concern as these injuries for senior citizens may be slow to heal as well as come with multiple complications. Bone fractures will necessitate immobilization via the installation of a splint or cast, and in some cases, surgery in order to realign the bones properly. Recovery may put you out of commission for weeks or months, and you may need physical therapy in order to regain limb function and strength.
Head Injuries
Slipping and falling inside a Kroger store may result in you striking your head either on the floor or a shelf, producing head injuries. The head houses the brain, and any trauma to this delicate organ may lead to severe physical and neurological complications. A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury, presents with confusion, dizziness and memory issues. Severe traumatic brain injuries may lead to seizures, internal bleeding, impaired cognitive function, paralysis, coordination issues, difficulty speaking and swallowing, as well as emotional and behavioral changes such as impulsivity, aggression, mood swings and irritability. TBIs may require surgery to relieve pressure if there is internal bleeding as well as sectioning off areas that may be responsible for intractable seizures, the administration of medications such as antidepressants and antiseizure medication and so on.
Do I Have a Valid Kroger Injury Lawsuit?
In order to have a valid Kroger injury claim, the following elements must be present:
Duty of Care
You must show that the property owner had a duty of care to keep you safe while shopping. This is usually implied when you access a business premise for the purposes of conducting business. You can demonstrate this by presenting receipts and a shopping list, as well as text messages informing friends and loved ones about your intention to go shopping at Kroger’s. According to premises liability, you are considered an invitee, and therefore, this duty of care kicks in.
Breach of Duty
You must demonstrate that Kroger management or employees breached this duty of care in certain examples such as failing to clean up spills in a timely manner, not putting up signage warning customers about a hazardous condition, or failing to install ramps or fixing uneven tarmac at the parking lot which then caused you to trip and fall
Causation
You must demonstrate that the store’s breach of duty of care was the proximate cause of your injuries sustained from a specific event. For instance, were it not for employees stacking goods in a haphazard and unstable manner on shelves, heavy boxes of goods wouldn’t have fallen on you, resulting in injury
Damages
You must prove that your injuries can be quantified as far as damages are concerned in order to have a valid claim. For example, if you suffered a TBI and broken bones, you must show medical receipts and quotes for at-home care to qualify for cost of medical treatment, time missed off work and emails or text messages alluding to the same in order to qualify for lost wages, and so on.
Experienced, Countrywide Kroger Injury Attorneys – Call Us Today!
Kroger slip and fall injuries can be life-changing, and going it alone because you are looking to save on legal costs is inadvisable, as these cases are complicated, contentious and stressful. By working with one of our experienced Kroger premises liability lawyers, we will take the load off your back by engaging with the company as well as insurance company on your behalf, ensure that you are seen by various specialists in a timely manner so a comprehensive medical report can be produced, serve the store with a court order to relinquish their security camera footage of the incident for further investigations, negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, all the while as you rest and recuperate from your injuries. If you’d like to get started on your potential Kruger supermarket injury lawsuit, simply give us a call NOW at 312-444-0214 to speak with one of our experienced workers compensation lawyers for FREE. Thanks for choosing McCready Law, and we look forward to helping you.