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A Guide to Walmart Injury Claims

Key Takeaways

  • Retailers like Walmart have a duty to provide a safe environment for their customers.
  • When a preventable dangerous condition results in injury, you can hold Walmart accountable.
  • Walmart's insurer, Claims Management Inc, focuses on shutting down claims as quickly and quietly as possible. Contacting an attorney helps you get the best result.

In This Article

North Carolina Injury Claim

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people will shop safely and routinely in one of many Walmart locations. North Carolina alone has 204 stores, with the average size around 106,000 square feet. As the world’s largest retailer, customers expect a safe, convenient shopping experience. Yet injuries happen every day in these superstores. Walmart, like any business that invites the public onto its property, has a legal obligation under North Carolina law to maintain safe premises for its customers. When the company fails in that duty, injured individuals have the right to seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. Maginnis Howard can help you pursue a personal injury claim against Walmart.

Lawsuits Against Walmart

Walmart employs over 1.5 million people in its US stores alone and reports garnering hundreds of millions of customers each year. With bustling traffic and a massive workforce, Walmart has become known as one of the companies receiving the most lawsuits. Claims against the stores frequently involve slip-and-falls, falling merchandise, parking lot incidents, and security failures. These claims primarily involve injuries to customers and employees while on Walmart premises or during employment. North Carolina is home to numerous Walmart locations, and injuries at these stores are no exception to this national trend.

North Carolina Premises Liability

Shoppers at Walmart are considered “business invitees” and are protected by North Carolina’s premises liability law. Stores like Walmart must take reasonable steps to ensure the property is safe and warn customers about potential dangers. This fundamental legal principle, called “duty of care”, is a core element to proving a premises liability case. To recover damages, you must prove that a property owner breached their duty of care to cause injury directly. Establishing your claim involves several components:

  • The Store Owed You a Duty of Care

    When you walk into Walmart as a shopper, you're what the law calls an "invitee." That means the store invited you onto its property, and it has a legal obligation to keep the place reasonably safe. Therefore, if you were shopping when you got hurt, this box is already checked.

  • There Was a Hazardous Condition

    You will need to prove that the injury resulted from a hazardous condition. Maybe a puddle of spilled detergent, a loose floor mat near the entrance, or merchandise was stacked so high in the garden center that it toppled over. There needs to be a specific dangerous condition that caused your injury.

  • The Store Knew (or Should Have Known) About It

    You don't need to prove that a manager saw the spill and ignored it. If the puddle remained for two hours without anyone checking, that counts too. The law considers whether a reasonable store would have identified the issue. Walmart employees are on the floors all day. If a hazard persisted long enough for someone to notice, that can be enough to support your claim.

  • The Store Failed to Fix It or Warn You

    The store must address hazards or warn invitees about them. If an employee sees a spill, they should clean it up or at least place a wet floor sign. During renovations, the store should block off the area and post clear warnings. The key question is: did the store take reasonable measures to fix the hazard or ensure you were aware of it?

  • You Were Injured

    Simply falling but sustaining no harm does not constitute a lawsuit. You must show evidence that you were injured because of a store’s negligence. This often requires medical records that detail your injuries such as emergency room visits, X-rays, or treatment notes.

  • Your Injuries Cost You Money

    Finally, you need to show the financial impact of your injury. Depending on the type of accident, premises liability injuries can result in medical bills, lost work, and more. Your attorney will work with you to show the losses you’ve incurred due to dangerous conditions in a retail store.

Reasonable Care

The term “reasonable care” is flexible and can take many forms depending on the situation. No property is assumed to be 100% pristine; however, there are always steps owners can take to mitigate harm. When this care is breached, a store is negligent. Examples of reasonable care at Walmart include:

  • Promptly addressing spills or walkway obstacles
  • Safely stacking and securing merchandise
  • Clearly marking hazards to caution customers
  • Ensuring products sold in the store are safe for consumer use
  • Properly lighting all areas of the store and parking lot

Failing to meet these obligations can result in Walmart being held liable for injuries caused by its negligence.

Common Types of Walmart Injury Claims

Slip and Fall Incidents

Among the most common injuries in retail stores like Walmart are slip-and-fall incidents. This is because there are several ways an environment contributes to unsafety, including:

  • Spill: Any number of liquids can create an unsafe walking environment at a store like Walmart. Beyond the grocery aisles, the hardware department could have a paint spill, and the auto department could have an automotive fluid spill. Monitoring areas where leaks are common and promptly cleaning or marking them is essential to a safe store environment.
  • Poorly Maintained Infrastructure: Dimly lit areas, damaged staircases, and missing handrails can lead to slips and falls.
  • Obstacles: Like in a home improvement store, many Walmarts display products for use. This means electrical cords may obstruct walking paths. Further obstacles include merchandise or trash left in the aisles.

Falling Merchandise

Shelves at Walmart can reach up to 15 feet high to store merchandise on the floor for easy restocking. It’s important that Walmart properly trains employees to stack items safely to avoid products from falling on customers. Past lawsuits against Walmart highlight the range of injuries resulting from these accidents: broken bones, traumatic brain injury, neck injuries, herniated discs, and, in some instances, death.

Parking Lot Accidents

Just as Walmart has a duty of reasonable care inside the stores, it also has a duty of reasonable care in its parking lots. Retailers have the same responsibility to inspect their parking lots for hazards and address them promptly. Walmart customers previously sued over poorly maintained parking lots, insufficient lighting, inadequate security, and failure to address issues they had prior knowledge of.

What to Do After a Walmart Injury

Whatever injury you sustained at Walmart, the basic next steps remain largely the same.

  1. Seek Immediate Medical Attention

    First and foremost, it’s crucial to ensure your own safety. Some injuries may not be visible, and symptoms can worsen. For example, if you’ve hit your head during a slip and fall, seek treatment from a medical professional to rule out a concussion. Another reason we urge you to get treated is to document the injuries resulting from the hazards at Walmart.

  2. Document Everything

    Collecting evidence at the scene of your injury provides the basis for your negligence claim. It’s extremely helpful to have photos of the scene, witness statements, contact details, physical evidence, and medical records that display treatment.

  3. Report the Incident, But Do Not Sign Away Your Rights

    Store management needs to be notified of any accident. Report your injury with just the basic facts of your case. Try to limit the conversation so they may not use any information you provide against you. Most importantly, do not record any statements or sign anything. Walmart’s main goal is to dismiss your injury or put the blame on you. This is especially tricky in North Carolina, which follows the contributory negligence rule.

  4. Contact an Attorney Immediately

    Time is critical. North Carolina’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally three years, but evidence can disappear quickly — surveillance footage is often overwritten within days. Contacting a lawyer right away helps preserve the evidence you need.

Dealing with Claims Management, Inc. (CMI)

After you’ve treated your injuries and the report is filed, you can expect a call from Claims Management Inc. CMI is Walmart’s dedicated “independent” insurer that investigates and administers injury claims. The company works to dissect your injury claim and find ways to blame you vs. the conditions that contributed to your injury. It’s important to know that you are not required to give CMI a recorded statement. Hiring an attorney to deal with claims adjusters is the best way to ensure you are getting proper compensation for your injuries.

Why Choose Maginnis Howard

Taking on a corporation as large and resourceful as Walmart requires a law firm with experience, dedication, and tenacity to fight for your rights. When choosing legal representation for a Walmart injury claim, look for a firm that specializes in personal injury and premises liability law, has a proven track record against large corporations, understands Walmart’s aggressive defense tactics, provides personalized attention and clear communication, and is familiar with North Carolina’s contributory negligence standard. Maginnis Howard is a North Carolina personal injury firm founded on these principles. Our attorneys possess deep expertise in premises liability, product liability, and personal injury law, and understand the unique challenges of pursuing claims under North Carolina law. From your initial consultation through case resolution, we offer dedicated attention, strategic guidance, and aggressive advocacy.

Contact Us

Schedule your free consultation with our experienced Walmart injury claim lawyers today. We handle Walmart injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

To discuss your case, contact our team by phone at (919) 526-0405 or via our contact page. We represent clients across the Carolinas from our Raleigh, Charlotte, and Fayetteville offices.

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