Business may have to clean up spill within three minutes

If you slip on a puddle in a store and injure yourself, you may be able to sue the store for not cleaning it up … if the store knew (or should have known) that it was there.

So this raises the question: How quickly must a store realize that someone has spilled something, and clean up the mess? Possibly as little as three minutes, according to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

In this case a customer at a Hardee’s restaurant slipped and injured himself on a puddle on the floor. A review of the store’s security video showed that the liquid had been there for three minutes and 11 seconds before the man fell.

Although that’s not a very long time, the puddle was less than 20 feet from the service counter where employees were serving customers, and witnesses said it could easily be seen by employees behind the counter.

Hardee’s argued that it was unfair to expect employees to clean up a spill in three minutes. But the court disagreed, and said a jury should decide at trial whether the Hardee’s employees had acted reasonably in the situation.

That’s why it’s always good to talk to a lawyer whenever there’s an injury or accident only a lawyer on your side can determine the full extent to which you might be compensated.

We are García de la Garza Attorneys at Law, your personal injury lawyers in Houston.

We are here to help you win your case.  If you don’t win, you don’t pay.

Call us at :  713-784-1010.