Acme Markets Inc. is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and it has 15 stores scattered around Philadelphia. It’s one of the largest food and drug retailers in the Delaware Valley. In 2015, when A&P went bankrupt for the second time in three years, Acme acquire the leases of more than 70 New England A&P stores. This solidified Acme’s grip on the Philadelphia food and drug market.
Paying Little or Nothing Increases the Bottom Line
Notwithstanding all of the money that Acme has spent on acquiring new locations in the last five years, it’s fair to say that the company is tight-fisted with its money on personal injury claims. Trip-and-falls are one of the most frequent personal injury liability issues that the company encounters, and its insurance adjusters make it slow and painful getting claims processed. Of course, it’s the objective of that insurer to pay as little as possible or even nothing on trip-and-falls that occurred on Acme Markets properties.
Trip and Fall Injuries
When a person trips and falls, his or her toes collide with a fixed object, and the person’s momentum propels them forward. Some common trip-and-fall injuries consist of the following:
- Skull and facial fractures.
- Serious dental injuries.
- Wrist and shoulder fractures and dislocations.
- Knee injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Traumatic spinal cord injuries.
Proving Liability:
A business like Acme Markets can be held liable for a customer’s trip-and-fall injuries if it knew or should have known of the condition that caused the customer to trip and failed to repair or warn customers of it in a reasonable amount of time. Defenses in these types of cases commonly pivot on the following:
- The customer wasn’t watching where he or she was going.
- The condition was open and obvious.
- The store had notice of the condition, and the accident happened immediately after receiving notice.
- The alleged victim wasn’t injured to the extent claimed, and his or her medical bills were unreasonable and unnecessary.
After an Accident
As soon as a trip-and-fall injury occurs, insist that a written accident report be made by management with a copy of it being given to you before you leave the store. Don’t sign anything. Also insist that paramedics be called, so you can be treated at the scene. They can then transport you to the nearest emergency room. Preservation of evidence in these types of cases is extremely important, so immediately after that, retain quality and effective Philadelphia personal injury law firm to represent you in your claim or lawsuit.
The insurance adjusters and attorneys representing businesses like Acme Markets are well-versed in asserting the above defenses. They’re also skilled at obtaining statements from unrepresented trip-and-fall claimants and using a claimant’s own words against him or her. Never give an opposing insurer a recorded statement without an attorney being present on your behalf.
Contact Us
We understand the tricks and techniques that the insurance adjusters use. Before you sign anything, give us a call. You deserve to understand your rights and have a team to fight to defend them. Unlike the huge firms with dozens of attorneys and many different 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.