Legal Tips: Mistakes to Avoid When Suing Big Stores Like Walmart

You are in a Walmart. Out of nowhere, something falls on you and injures you. Or maybe you slip and fall while shopping. 

What should you do? Well, if you believe that their negligence is to blame, you sue. 

Yes, you can sue them and win. That is, provided you avoid the following common mistakes. 

Mistake #1: Failing to Report the Incident on Time

Waiting too long before reporting the injury is a mistake. The store can argue you’re making up the story after the fact just to try and get money.

So if you get injured in a store, report it as soon as possible. Tell a store manager what happened – how you got hurt and the circumstances leading up to it. 

Even if you are seriously injured, try to give the basic overview, then go back as soon as you feel a bit better to give your full statement – even if it’s the next day. Reporting it immediately rather than waiting weeks or months makes your story much more credible in court.

Mistake #2: Not Getting Checked Out Medically Quickly After the Fall

After slipping and falling, you might think it’s no big deal and you feel fine initially. So you just brush yourself off instead of seeing a doctor right away. But this common mistake can ruin your case down the road!

Even falls that seem minor at first can lead to hidden injuries that you only notice hours or days later. Things like concussions, hairline fractures, and slipped discs often have delayed onset of symptoms. If doctors don’t thoroughly evaluate you soon after the accident, the store can argue “See, they weren’t even hurt that badly or they’d have gone to the ER immediately!” Not having that timely medical record makes some injuries much harder to conclusively prove later on.

Instead, get checked out by a doctor immediately, even if it’s just urgent care rather than the ER. Go within at most 48 hours after any store accident. Even if you feel okay at first, some medical problems take time to manifest symptoms so doctors may not spot issues unless they do imaging and tests. The medical report and diagnosis timeline shows definitively when you got hurt, helping legally link the injuries to the accident incident for your lawsuit.

Plus going to get checked out quickly demonstrates you were concerned enough to seek medical care right away. This lends credibility and shows you viewed the fall as serious instead of an exaggeration after the fact to try and get money. Seeing doctors quickly helps verify real impairment.

Mistake #3: Failing to Gather Evidence

You need rock-solid proof to show precisely why the store is legally liable and responsible for your injuries. Pictures of hazards that caused your fall and eyewitness statements establishing negligence are absolutely vital.

So take lots of clear pictures showing what led to the slip, trip, or accident – such as the puddle of water, spilled soap, broken floor tiles or hazardous store clutter areas. Capture images of the whole scene from multiple angles if possible, not just close-ups. That provides proper context. 

Ask any eyewitnesses who saw the incident for their full names and contact phone numbers or emails too. Their first-hand accounts of what transpired will greatly bolster your case later on.

The bottom line – document as much evidence as possible right then and there! Photos, videos, witness statements, and anything else relevant should be collected. This tangible proof will give your injury claim major teeth when trying to negotiate an out-of-court legal settlement or when trying to prove your case in court. It often makes the difference between receiving fair compensation or getting lowballed and having your case thrown out of court. 

Don’t leave the scene without capturing solid evidence!

Mistake #4: Accepting Lowball Settlement Offers Prematurely

After you report a serious accident to the store, their insurance company will likely call you within days or weeks. They’ll probably offer an out-of-court settlement.

It can be quite tempting to just take the cash. But more often than not, these early settlement offers tend to be super lowball amounts compared to actual case value – we’re talking hundreds or few thousand dollars at most frequently. Stores try to get away with paying as little as possible upfront to close cases fast and dodge lawsuits.

If you accept a tiny settlement prematurely, that’s all you ever get for your suffering and damages. You forfeit your legal rights to ever ask for any additional fairer compensation down the road – even if unexpected medical problems, major lost wages, or other costly issues pile up later as a direct consequence of the original injury.

Mistake #5: Attempting To Handle Complex Injury Cases By Yourself

A lot of well-meaning people believe they can handle big injury lawsuits themselves without legal representation. “How hard can it be?” they ask. But battling massive companies like Walmart, Costco or Aldi’s as an amateur is usually an uphill losing battle even for basic complaints, let alone complex medical cases. These retailers and chains have entire departments and armies of experienced corporate defense lawyers who are experts at getting cases dismissed and minimizing payouts.

Trying to directly take on these business giants on your own over a personal injury matter – even if it seems straightforward to you – is generally a recipe for getting lowballed or having your case quickly thrown out. Their crafty legal teams use sophisticated strategies, technicalities, exhaustive resources and financial leverage to influence outcomes in the company’s favor. They make winning compensation extremely challenging without having your own attorney to advocate solely for your interests every step and counter their agenda.

Therefore, if you don’t know how to sue Walmart for personal injury effectively, you should hire a reputable personal injury lawyer to even the playing field and boost your odds substantially if you want truly fair damages for what happened. Specialized injury lawyers know these types of cases intricately from every angle: the laws, defense tactics, value estimates, negotiating strategies and tough legal maneuvering required for victory. They can methodically gather irrefutable evidence, accurately calculate full case value based on long-term impacts, aggressively negotiate appropriate settlements pre-trial if possible, and take uncooperative companies to court if reasonable agreements can’t be reached.

Mistake #6: Venting Emotionally About Your Case on Social Media

After getting hurt due to obvious store negligence, it’s completely natural to feel mistreated and vent frustrations about your ordeal online hoping for emotional support. But impulsive social media posts can be used as ammunition in court. Even seemingly-harmless complaints or facts about your injury case on networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can be twisted or taken out of context.

Likewise, it’s risky to openly write emotional statements like “feeling depressed” or “things looking brighter” tied back to the accident date itself. Opposing legal teams can infer exaggerated mental trauma compared to medical reports if your own words convey improving outlooks over time as is normal. 

So it’s wise to lock down social media visibility across all platforms once you decide to pursue formal complaints against companies, however fair your grievances may be. At a minimum, set your profiles to private so only confirmed friends can read updates. Better yet, refrain completely from venting about your legal situation or struggles.

Mistake #7: Missing Strict Legal Deadlines to Take Legal Action in Your Case

Every state has strict statutory time limits called “statutes of limitations” which represent legal deadlines for injury victims to officially take legal action after accidents and incidents or take steps to preserve their rights to eventually pursue legal action even if talks stall.

If you totally miss the cutoff date deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit or other forms of litigation, you can completely lose your window of opportunity forever – with limited exceptions. At that point, no ifs, ands, or buts matter generally. In short, failing to take any binding legal action before the clock runs out forfeits your ability to sue the business or recover civil damages.