Cars don’t move without gas and if you’re running low in Philadelphia you probably don’t have to wait long to see the orange, blue and white globe of a Gulf Gas Station. These bright beacons of friendly service can remind you that you’re running low or in need of a snack break.
That pitstop can take you from the cement platform of the pumps, inside and past the snack bar, and sometimes back to the bathrooms. You may be focused on keeping your stay short, but you may not realize how many dangerous obstacles you might have narrowly missed. A soapy mess on a bathroom floor or an oil slick in the parking lot can be enough to drop you to the ground with bone-rattling force.
After a fall and a potentially painful injury at a gas station don’t leave your wellbeing up to that local business owner or their corporate parent. Contact an attorney with Philadelphia’s Pearce Law Firm, P.C., for an honest look at what your recovery may cost and who exactly should be paying for those doctor’s visits. Here’s one thing to know…it shouldn’t be you.
Gulf Gas Station Slip-And-Fall Dangers in Philadelphia
Gulf Stations aren’t hard to find in Philly. There are two dozen or more stations in greater Philadelphia and more than one location on Ridge Avenue. They offer snacks, drinks, fill-ups, restrooms, and a lot of extra stuff unique to each stop. Those products and services can save a trip to a bigger store, but they can also present slip-and-fall dangers.
After a rush of customers, a store may have candy rolled across the floor, a 42oz. drink splashed on the tile, or even boxes in the aisles. All are risks for slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall injuries. You can fracture a hip, lock up your back, and even get a serious concussion with a blow to the head. A trip can cause you to break a wrist or a knee and you may fall on your face and damage your teeth. These frightening outcomes may seem unlikely, but they happen every day in stores across the United States.
The parking lot may also be the scene for a dangerous fall, especially in cold Philadelphia winters. Store proprietors are required to keep paths into the store reasonably free of ice and snow. If these hazards build up proprietors can be held liable for any injury that results. Water leaking from a car wash can be a major obstacle on a cold day. A pothole can grab your foot any time of year.
Proving Your Slip-And-Fall Case at a Gulf Station
Gulf station owners and operators won’t be first in line to offer you help as you face an expensive hospital stay and possible surgeries all while missing weeks of work. You can help force them into accepting liability by gathering as much evidence on the scene of your accident as your injury will allow.
Grab pics of the obstacle that caused your fall. Get contact information from any witnesses. Let a manager or employee know what happened. Call 911 if you feel you need immediate medical help.
All of these actions can help provide the evidence you’ll need to deflect any doubts later. When it comes to your claim for damages against Gulf you’ll need to clearly show these factors:
- The hazard was created by the proprietor, or
- The proprietor knew of the hazard and didn’t fix it in a reasonable amount of time.
Another customer may have created the obstacle that left you injured, but store operators have a duty to constantly monitor the condition of their parking lots and stores for dangers that arise. They should be cleaned up or fixed before anyone has the chance to get hurt.
In most cases, Gulf will be calling its corporate lawyers to work to cast doubt on your claim. They may bring up these details to try to get you to drop your claim or accept some of the blame for your fall:
- Claim you were distracted at the time of the fall and not paying attention to where you were stepping. You may have been looking at a cellphone, but that doesn’t mean you lose out on compensation.
- Claim you were in an area not meant for the general public. These areas should be clearly marked and visitors shouldn’t be able to accidentally wander into them.
- Claim signs or tape were present to warn you of danger but you didn’t heed the warning. They may have had foot-high signs out, but that doesn’t excuse Gulf from having to pay compensation.
- Question your shoes. They may say the condition of your shoes caused your fall. Make sure you save the shoes you were wearing on the day of your accident.
Contact a Philadelphia Slip-And-Fall Lawyer
Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall victims are given up to two years to file a claim for damages over their injuries, but you shouldn’t wait months or years to proceed with your claim against a gas station. You’ll likely need money to help with your medical costs and other expenses as soon as possible. It’s also harder for your attorney to gather evidence and documents and track down your witnesses the longer you wait.
After any accident involving a fall and a serious injury, contact a highly rated Philadelphia Slip-and-Fall Accident Lawyer such as Edith Pearce. Unlike the huge firms with dozens of attorneys handling different aspects of your case, Edith Pearce is personally involved in every case that we handle. She genuinely cares about her clients and you will not be treated like just another case or file.