In Garcia v. Target Corporation, Dist. Court, SD Florida 2014, Rosa Garcia sued Target Corporation and its store manager.
Garcia and her son, Frank Garcia, went to a Target store located at 5800 South University Drive in Davie, Broward County, Florida. The photo above shows the store.
They were there to have their eyes examined and for food shopping. They were there for many hours.
It was not raining. She “did not notice it was wet.” While exiting the Target store, she slipped and fell.
Before she fell, Rosa did not see anything on the floor because she said she was walking.
Tip: All things equal, a slip and fall case is worth more if you did not see the foreign substance on the floor before your fall. Less fault is placed on you.
Following the fall, she saw that the floor was wet.
Tip: Though it is not a guarantee of winning your case, it helps your claim if you see that the floor is wet after your fall.
She also noticed her pants were wet.
Tip: One of the 13 ways that you can show that you slipped on a wet floor is if your clothes are wet after the fall.
She said she saw “drops of water [and] water all over.”
She said the water was covering about two or three floor tiles. Frank noticed that the floor was wet after her fall. He saw a puddle where she fell. It was surrounded by water with footsteps.
He noticed a footprint from a Timberland brand boot in the water. He also saw other footprints. He said it looked as if crowds of people had walked in after it was raining. There was a streak.
After the accident, a Target employee wiped the floor. They placed a “caution wet floor” sign there.
Target tried to have the case dismissed based on Delgado v. Laundromax, Inc., 65 So.3d 1087 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.2011). The shopper’s attorney said that Delgado is distinguishable.
Her attorney also argued that the footprints in the water create a question of fact as to Target’s constructive notice. The judge issued an opinion, which said:
“In Delgado, the plaintiff, who slipped and fell, initially testified she did not see the substance on which she slipped, but that it looked like water because it was transparent.
There was no evidence in the record that it was raining or that any of the defendant laundromat’s washers or sinks were located near where she fell. Id. at 1090.
Nor were there any additional facts that the spill was on the floor for a long a period of time prior to the accident. Id.
The court noted that the plaintiff testified that she did not know where the water came from, she did not see any water anywhere else other than where she slipped, she did not know how long the water was on the floor, and she did not know of any laundromat employees who knew the water was on the floor. Id.”
The court disagreed with Target that Delgado is the same as the Target case.
The court said that shopper’s son testified that there were “footprints in the water on the floor and that it appeared crowds of people had walked in after it was raining, despite the fact that there is evidence that it was not raining the day Plaintiff fell in the store.
These facts raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Defendant knew there was water on the floor but ignored it or should have discovered it earlier. This means that the judge let the case continue to trial.
Kenneth A. Marra was the judge. Target’s attorney was Fort Lauderdale lawyer David Cooney of Cooney Trybus.
My thoughts: Target usually removes slip and fall cases to Federal Court. Some Florida federal judges are more likely than Florida state court judges to dismiss a slip and fall case.
This is true if it is a case where it is tough to prove that Target is negligent.
Florida slip and fall cases may still be won if there is a warning sign in place. However, they are usually much tougher.
Slip and fall cases are difficult. You can see that from this defense verdict. The shopper’s attorney probably spent $15,000 to $20,000 of his own money on the case. This is in addition to countless hours spent working on the case.
Want to learn more about Target accident claims in Florida?
Check out my other articles on Target accident claims in Florida:
- Target Store Slip and Fall Injury Claims in Florida
- Court Dismisses Slip and Fall on Slick Floor Claim vs. Target Store in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
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