Grocery stores, big-box retailers, home-improvement warehouses, pharmacies, and malls see thousands of customers a day. Their staff mop, stock, and rearrange constantly—and when they cut corners, customers get hurt.
Common hazards
- Spilled liquids, produce, and broken containers in aisles
- Leaking freezers, coolers, and roof leaks
- Freshly mopped floors without wet-floor signs
- Rain, slush, or ice at entrances and on bunched or curled mats
- Merchandise falling from high shelves or overstocked displays
- Uneven entrance thresholds and transitions between flooring
- Pallets, stocking carts, and boxes left in aisles
- Shopping cart corrals and curbs in the parking lot
Stores that create the hazard
When store employees create a hazard—stacking heavy items unsafely, mopping without signage, leaving a pallet jack in an aisle—the store generally cannot claim it did not know about it. When the hazard came from another customer, the question becomes whether the store’s inspection and cleanup practices were reasonable. Large retailers often have written “floor walk” or sweep policies, and whether employees actually followed them can matter.
Our firm has published a $325,000 retail store negligence settlement involving an improper threshold that caused a trip and fall (prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome). Read more about retail store negligence on our firm site.
Evidence that matters
Store surveillance video is often the single most important piece of evidence, showing how long a hazard was there and whether employees walked past it. Ask for an incident report, photograph the hazard and the area around it (including any warning signs—or the lack of them), and get the names of employees who responded.
Indiana law in brief
Customers and guests are generally invitees under Indiana law, owed reasonable care to keep the premises safe (Burrell v. Meads, 1991). Most claims must be filed within two years (IC 34-11-2-4), and Indiana’s modified comparative fault rules apply (IC 34-51-2). Government-owned property requires Tort Claims Act notice within 180 days (local) or 270 days (State). For the full overview, read our Indiana slip and fall lawyer page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a grocery store responsible if another customer caused the spill?
Possibly. The question is whether the store knew or should have known about the spill through reasonable inspection, and whether it acted reasonably to clean it up or warn customers.
What if I was hit by falling merchandise?
Stores are expected to stock and display merchandise safely. Injuries from items falling from shelves can support a claim even without a slip, depending on how the merchandise was stacked.
Will the store give me the video?
Stores often decline to release video directly to customers, but a preservation letter can require it be kept so it can be obtained later in the claim.
Sources
- IC 34-11-2-4 — official heading: “Injury or forfeiture of penalty actions.” An action for injury to a person or to personal property generally must be started within two years after the cause of action accrues.
- IC 34-51-2 — official heading: “Chapter 2. Compensatory Damages: Comparative Fault.” Indiana’s comparative fault chapter: a claimant’s own fault reduces damages in proportion, and recovery is barred if the claimant’s fault is greater than the combined fault of everyone whose fault contributed (sections 5 and 6).
Indiana Code links open the official chapter PDF from the Indiana General Assembly (2026 Code); federal rules link to the current eCFR text.
More official links: Indiana accident resources · Indiana crash statistics · How to get your crash report
General information only—not legal advice. Laws change and every case is different; deadlines can be shorter in some situations. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.