If you're injured in a slip and fall accident, you have the right to receive full compensation for your injuries. Unfortunately, too many stores will look for any excuse to avoid having to pay you compensation. Here's how to beat the most common defenses.

You're Too Old

It's true that elderly people are more likely to be involved in a slip and fall accident. As you get older, you're not as strong, you have more trouble keeping your balance, and you lose the reflexes that might have helped you avoid a fall when you were younger.

This doesn't excuse a store from responsibility if a slip and fall accident involves an elderly person. A store should reasonably expect to be visited by customers of all ages, and every store has a duty to provide a safe environment for both young and old customers alike.

You Weren't Being Careful

After a slip and fall accident, stores often try to shift the blame by saying you should have been more careful. Even if you might have been able to avoid an accident, the store is still responsible.

For example, if you didn't see a wet spot because you were looking up on the shelves, that's not your fault. No one expects you to be looking at the ground the entire time.

The only exception might be if you did something unusually unsafe. This might include running inside the store or missing a wet floor sign because you were texting on your phone.

The Store Didn't Know About the Problem

If you slipped because of a leak or spill, stores will often try to say they didn't know about the unsafe condition. The test for making a slip and fall claim is what they should have known not what they actually knew.

It's reasonable to expect an employee to occasionally walk the aisles, so if a spill could have been discovered that way, the store is responsible even if the employee never left their chair at the front counter.

Another Customer Caused the Problem

It also doesn't matter if it was a customer that caused a spill or other unsafe condition. This falls under what a store should have known.

Customers knock things over and don't pick them up, so the store must make reasonable efforts to tidy up throughout the day.

To get help making a slip and fall accident claim, contact a local personal injury lawyer today.