Many gas stations around Louisville no longer smell like tires and grease and feature someone in an oil-stained shirt behind the counter. New, fancy minimarts, like Thorntons, have gone upscale from the pumps to the bathrooms.
One thing new convenience stores have in common with the service stations of old is the potential for spills to send you slipping to the ground in a sudden fall. In fact, with so many new offerings at places like Thorntons, the risks may be even greater with more people shuffling through and more chances they leave liquids and food on the floors.
If you are a victim of a slip-and-fall or a trip-and-fall accident at a gas station in Kentucky, Kaufman & Stigger PLLC, Injury Lawyers are here to ensure you don’t endure a long, painful recovery alone. Owners and operators of these locations should be front and center when it comes time to pay your hospital bills and other expenses. If you have been hurt in a fall, you should be focused on your recovery and returning to a normal life. Let our attorneys take care of the legal side of your accident and hold the gas station owner responsible for your medical care. Contact us for a free consultation.
Gas Station Fall Hazards In Louisville
Pulling over at Thornton’s two dozen or more locations across Louisville can fool you into thinking you’ve stopped at a Subway, Starbucks, and Chipotle combined. Thornton’s makes fresh food and brews ounces and ounces of hot and cold drinks.
Customers like the tasty options while filling up but all that vehicle and foot traffic can leave behind a number of obstacles that can suddenly take you off your feet. The hazards can be near the food and drink stations, where a spilled soda or a greasy fry can sit on the tile for too long until you walk up and go sliding. The bathrooms can be another dangerous place as soap and water can turn floors into skating rinks.
Other hazards show up around the pumps and along the pavement outside. Oil leaks from older cars can build up and create an oil slick for you to slip on. A fall can cause you to hit your head or come down hard on a hip. Potholes and landscaping features like bushes and mulch can also send you tumbling.
Common Injuries At Thorntons Gas Stations
These falls might seem like minor inconveniences, but the consequences can end up being severe and long-lasting for just about anyone. A fall in any setting can rob you of your mobility for weeks, months, or even longer.
In slip-and-fall accidents, a victim will often fall backward and in that direction, it can be difficult to protect your own head. You may have noticed that gas stations have many cement structures and metal edges, so any blow to the skull can be potentially serious.
Here are some common injuries that impact slip and fall victims:
- Traumatic brain injuries and Skull Fractures.
- Damage to the spinal cord and spinal structure.
- Dislocations and fractures. Hip and other joint damage.
- Psychological damage. Being too afraid to go out again.
In contrast, Trip-and-fall injuries generally send victims vaulting forward. The hands and wrists can suffer breaks as you try to catch yourself. Trauma to the head is also possible in a tripping incident. Facial features and the teeth and mouth can be especially vulnerable if your arms can’t cushion the impact.
Compensation in Gas Station Falls
Property owners are always subject to “premises liability” when they invite people, like customers, onto their property and they get hurt. Whether the hazard was something created by the proprietor or by a customer, owners and their employees are allowed a reasonable amount of time to fix or clean-up the problem. In the meantime, they are required to warn customers about the issue.
If they fail in this “duty of care”, they can be held liable for all of your hospital bills, rehabilitation costs, and lost wages from missed time at work.
They likely won’t be enthusiastic to cover your costs and they may even point the finger at you. Owners often claim victims should have been watching where they were going or were somewhere they weren’t supposed to be. Even if this is true you can still win compensation.
Under the concept of comparative negligence, you may have to share part of the blame with a proprietor after a fall. You might be assigned a small percentage of responsibility, but the owner might share a big portion of the liability. If this is the case, you would still earn compensation to help in your recovery, but your percentage of fault would be deducted from the final award.
Contact a Louisville Slip-And-Fall Attorney
Accident victims often wonder if they need an attorney, and the answer is almost always yes. A nationwide gas station chain like Thornton’s will have their own lawyers and insurance agents with experience in getting victims to accept lowball offers or nothing at all. You need someone just as experienced to help you level the field. Talk to someone you can trust to be on your side and fight for your fair compensation
The attorneys at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, have that knowledge and a combined 100 years’ experience in helping clients get the compensation they’ll need to fully recover. To discuss your case contact Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC today.
