Stopping at the pharmacy is a pretty regular occurrence for most people. Perhaps you need to run in to grab a prescription or some over-the-counter medicine, or maybe you need to get a card on the way to a birthday party. Whatever your reason for being there, if you are hurt at a Long Island CVS or Walgreens, you may be able to pursue a claim for compensation.
CVS or Walgreens can be held liable for your losses if there was a dangerous condition at their store and they failed to either fix it or warn customers about it. Through a premises liability lawsuit against the pharmacy chain, you can recover money for your medical bills, lost wages, emotional distress, and other losses. Our Long Island slip and fall attorneys can help you get maximum compensation for your injuries.
The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers represent clients in Suffolk and Nassau Counties who have been hurt in car accidents, slips and falls, truck accidents, and other types of accidents. We offer free initial consultations and never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. To learn more or to schedule an appointment with a Long Island premises liability lawyer, contact our law offices today.
Fell at CVS or Walgreens. What You Should Do
If you fall at a CVS or Walgreens in Long Island, there are several important steps that you can take to preserve evidence and strengthen your claim. If you end up filing a slip and fall case against either store, doing these things can be incredibly helpful.
First, you should check for injuries. If you have visible injuries, feel pain, or just don’t feel right, you should seek medical attention. Getting medical treatment is the best way to make sure that you get the right diagnosis and the appropriate care. It can also be strong evidence connecting the fall with your injuries.
Next, you should report the incident to CVS or Walgreens. Notify the store manager or a supervisor immediately and ask them to document the accident in an incident report. This report should include details like the date, time, and precise location where you fell. You can ask for a copy of the report, but if you aren’t able to do so, your Long Island slip and fall attorney can request it later.
If you are able to do so, the next step that you should take is to document the scene. Use your phone to take photos and videos of where you fell. Make sure that you document the hazard that caused your fall (like debris in the aisle or a spill on the floor). Try to pan out to show a lack of signs or barriers, plus the lighting in the area and any other features that might have contributed to your fall.
If you can, you should also try to get contact information for any witnesses. During a lawsuit, these witnesses can provide crucial testimony to support your claim. You can also make a note of the names of any employees working when you got hurt.
Once you get home, write down everything that you can remember about the incident. Over time, your memory might fade, so making notes about the accident now is a good way to remember exactly what happened shortly after the incident.
Finally, if you are approached by an adjuster or representative from CVS, Walgreens, or their insurance companies, do not give a statement, sign any paperwork, or accept an offer. These massive corporations want to settle the claim for as little money as possible. They will typically offer a settlement that is far less than the true value of your claim. They will also use anything that you say to try to reduce the total value of your claim.
Instead, you should contact our law firm to schedule a free consultation with a Long Island premises liability attorney. We will listen to your story, offer you advice, and provide you with a ballpark estimate of the value of your case. If you decide to hire our legal team, we can handle all communications with the store and the insurance company on your behalf while we fight to get you maximum compensation for your injuries.
Can You Sue CVS or Walgreens for Injuries?
When you fall in or outside of a store like CVS or Walgreens, you may be able to pursue a legal claim against them. Your ability to do so will depend on whether or not the store was negligent (careless) in creating, allowing, or failing to fix or warn about a dangerous condition.
In New York, a property owner’s responsibility to keep their premises in a safe condition is based in part on the type of visitors coming onto the property. For a commercial business like CVS or Walgreens, most people entering the store will be invitees. An invitee is a person who comes onto the property for the benefit of the owner, such as a customer, employee, or even a delivery person.
Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care. To maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, they must regularly inspect it for any potential hazards. If they find a dangerous condition, they must fix it or provide warnings about it. If a property owner fails to take these steps and someone is hurt in a slip and fall, then they can be held liable for any injuries that result from a hazard that they either knew or should have known of with the exercise of due care.
For example, consider a situation where a Walgreens employee notices that the ceiling is leaking. They tell their manager, but no one takes the additional steps of drying the floor, putting a bucket out to catch the drips, and putting up warning signs to alert customers of the potentially wet floor and object in the walkway. Instead, they focus on calling around to get someone to come and find and fix the leak.
If a customer slips and falls on the wet floor, then Walgreens could be held responsible for any injuries that they suffered. Even though the staff was trying to get the leak fixed, they didn’t do anything to address the immediate dangerous condition: a wet floor. For this reason, Walgreens could be sued for the customer’s injuries.
In a premises liability case, you can recover financial compensation for all of your losses. This may include money for your economic damages like property damage, medical bills, future medical treatment, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity. You could also seek compensation for your non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, scarring, disfigurement, and emotional distress.
In rare cases, you might also seek punitive damages. These damages are only awarded in situations where the property owner acted intentionally or recklessly. It is possible – but unlikely – that a CVS or Walgreens would intentionally or recklessly cause a slip and fall accident. Our Long Island premises liability lawyers can help you understand whether punitive damages might be a possibility in your case.
Most personal injury claims are resolved outside of court. It may still be necessary to file a lawsuit to protect your legal rights. Under New York law, you have a limited period of time to file a personal injury lawsuit. We may advise you that it is in your best interests to file a lawsuit to make sure that your legal rights are preserved.
Filing a lawsuit also gives you the opportunity to learn more about the case through the discovery process. Many stores may balk at sharing relevant evidence, such as surveillance videos that show the events leading up to your fall. During discovery, we can request that CVS or Walgreens produce this type of evidence, which can then be used to strengthen your claim.
Our goal in every case is to help our clients get the most money possible for their injuries. In the majority of cases, we are able to negotiate a fair settlement. If the insurance company won’t give you the money that you deserve, we may take your case to trial and ask a jury to return a verdict in your favor.
It can be easy to feel intimidated when you consider going up against a massive corporation like CVS or Walgreens (and their insurance companies). Our law firm has significant experience taking on big companies and getting great results for our clients. We can help you level the playing field and get justice for your slip and fall injuries.
Help for CVS and Walgreens Fall Accident Victims
If you fall at CVS or Walgreens, you might be able to file a claim against the store for your injuries. Through a lawsuit, you can recover financial compensation for all of your losses. Our skilled team of Long Island slip and fall attorneys will work with you to get you the money that you deserve.
At The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers, we won’t hesitate to take on the major corporations to get you a fair settlement for your injuries. If you have been hurt in a fall at Walgreens or CVS, we can help you get maximum compensation. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation with a Long Island slip and fall attorney, give our law firm a call at 631-973-6221 or fill out our online contact form.