Slipped and Fell in a Store or Grocery Store? Who Is Responsible

When someone slips or trips in a store, whether the store is responsible depends on state law. In most states the store must use reasonable care to keep the floors and aisles reasonably safe, but it is not automatically liable for every fall. The injured shopper usually must show that the store created the hazard or knew, or should have known, about it in time to clean it up or warn. Some states have special statutes or rules for spills and self-service displays, and your own share of fault can reduce or bar recovery. The rules differ by state, so check the slip-and-fall page for your state.

What the law says

Slip-and-fall law is state law, so the rules differ by state. A common starting point: New Jersey's official jury charge says a business that invites the public in must use reasonable care to give customers a reasonably safe place, which means correcting or warning of hazards it knows about and hazards it could discover with reasonable care. Check the slip-and-fall page for your state. New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.20F, Duty Owed - Condition of Premises (rev. 11/2022)
A store is not automatically responsible just because someone fell. The Supreme Court of Texas has said a property owner "is not an insurer" of a visitor's safety; its duty is to make safe, or warn about, concealed and unreasonably dangerous conditions it knows or reasonably should know about. Supreme Court of Texas, Austin v. Kroger Texas, L.P., No. 14-0216
Example (Texas): a store customer must prove the store had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition. Constructive knowledge can be shown by proof that the condition existed long enough that the owner would have discovered it on a reasonable inspection. Supreme Court of Texas, Albertsons, LLC v. Mohammadi, No. 23-0041 (Apr. 5, 2024) (per curiam)
Example (Texas): in a 2024 grocery-store case, a woman slipped in a puddle next to a shopping cart where an employee had put leaking items. The Supreme Court of Texas said the relevant danger was the wet floor itself, not the leaking bag that produced it, and because there was no evidence an employee knew of the wet floor, the store won. Supreme Court of Texas, Albertsons, LLC v. Mohammadi, No. 23-0041 (Apr. 5, 2024) (per curiam)
Example (Florida): if you slip on a "transitory foreign substance" (such as a spill) in a business, a Florida statute requires you to prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of it and should have fixed it. Constructive knowledge can be shown by evidence that the condition lasted long enough that ordinary care would have revealed it, or that it happened regularly and was foreseeable. Fla. Stat. § 768.0755 (business premises; transitory foreign substances)
Example (Louisiana): a store or other merchant must use reasonable care to keep aisles, passageways and floors reasonably safe. A person who falls must prove the condition was an unreasonable, foreseeable risk, that the merchant created it or had actual or constructive notice of it, and that the merchant failed to use reasonable care. The statute says the lack of a written or verbal cleanup procedure, by itself, does not prove a failure of reasonable care. La. R.S. 9:2800.6 (merchant liability for falls)
Example (New Jersey): if the store or its employees created the dangerous condition, the injured person does not also have to prove the store had notice of it. The jury charge lists cases such as a fall on fat in a restaurant area crossed by a bus boy, and excess wax applied by an employee. New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.20F, Duty Owed - Condition of Premises (rev. 11/2022)
Example (New Jersey "mode of operation" rule): where customers handle products themselves in a self-service setting, an injured shopper who shows the fall happened in an area affected by self-service and connected to it does not have to prove the store knew of the specific hazard; the store must then show it did what a reasonably prudent business would do. The charge notes the rule did not apply to grapes sold in closed clamshell containers (Jeter v. Sam's Club, 2022). New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.20F, Duty Owed - Condition of Premises (rev. 11/2022)
Example (Ohio): a shopkeeper owes customers ordinary care to keep the premises reasonably safe and must warn of hidden dangers, but under Ohio's open-and-obvious doctrine there is no duty to warn of dangers that are open and obvious. Ohio Court of Appeals, Third District, Howard v. Meat City, Inc., 2016-Ohio-7989
Example (Wisconsin): the state's "safe place" statute requires owners of places of employment and public buildings to build, repair and maintain them so they are safe, and requires employers to make places of employment safe for "frequenters" such as customers. Wis. Stat. § 101.11(1), (2)(a)
Example (California): California uses one reasonable-care standard for everyone on the property. To win an unsafe-condition claim, the injured person must show the condition created an unreasonable risk of harm, the owner knew or reasonably should have known of it, the owner failed to fix it, protect against it or warn, and this was a substantial factor in causing the harm. Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) Nos. 1000, 1001, 1003 (2026 ed.)
Your own carelessness can reduce what you recover. Example (Florida): in negligence cases, an injured person's own fault reduces damages proportionately, and a person found more than 50% at fault for his or her own harm recovers nothing. Other states use different fault rules. Fla. Stat. § 768.81(2), (3), (6)

FAQ

Is a store automatically liable if I slip and fall?

No. Courts say a property owner is not an insurer of a visitor's safety. In Texas, for example, the owner's duty is to make safe or warn about concealed, unreasonably dangerous conditions it knows or reasonably should know about, and there is generally no duty to warn about hazards that are open and obvious.

Do I have to prove how long the spill was on the floor?

Often, yes, unless the store knew about it. In Florida, if the business did not actually know, you can show constructive knowledge with evidence that the condition lasted long enough that ordinary care would have revealed it, or that it happened regularly. Rules differ by state.

What if a store employee caused the spill?

In New Jersey, when the owner or its employees created the unsafe condition, the injured person does not have to prove the owner had actual or constructive notice of it. Other states have their own rules.

What if products fell off a self-service shelf or display?

New Jersey's mode-of-operation rule can apply to self-service settings. Cases listed in the state's jury charge include stacked soda cans tumbling down in a checkout aisle and a golf bag falling from a shelf. Where the rule applies, the shopper does not have to prove the store knew of the specific hazard.

What if I was partly at fault for the fall?

In many states, your share of fault reduces your recovery. Florida, for example, reduces damages by your share of fault and bars recovery if you are more than 50% at fault. The rule differs by state; see the slip-and-fall page for your state.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit after falling in a store?

It depends on the state. In California, for example, a lawsuit for injury to a person generally must be filed within 2 years from the injury. See the personal injury statute of limitations by state chart for other states.

General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.

Slipped and Fell in a Store or Grocery Store? Who Is Responsible

What the law says

FAQ

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