Discussion:
Samantha Smith came into your office. She was shopping at a local grocery store a few months ago and had an accident. While she was in the aisle with shower items she slipped and fell on some shampoo that had leaked out of one of the bottles.
Samantha had to be taken to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a broken hip and had to spend the night in the hospital. She will also have to go through many months of physical therapy. Samantha has no healthcare insurance and is a young single mother to a 2 year old son.
The store says that they were not aware of the spill of the shampoo. The store said that an employee checks the aisles for anything on the floors at the top of the hour. The day Samantha fell, the employee in charge of the aisle inspection was an older gentleman with glasses. The shampoo on the floor was a clear gel. She fell about 1:30 p.m. The store log says an inspection was last done at 12:45 p.m. The accident happened in a store in Indiana.
Reference :case law :
Howard v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 160 F.3d 358 (7th Cir. 1998).
Core v Winn-Dixie of Louisiana, Inc. (1985, La App 1st Cir) 471 So 2d 240, cert den (La) 476 So 2d 353.