Grocery Store Employees Fail To Correct Safety Hazard

This case involves an elderly man with a cane who tripped over the corner of a carpet at a grocery store in Nevada. The corner of the carpet had been flipped up and the man caught his foot on the rug and fell. The man suffered severe injuries including a broken hip and 2 broken wrists. Video surveillance of the premises shows several store employees passing by the carpeted area in the hour and a half before the incident and failing to correct the issue. An expert in grocery store operations and safety was sought to discuss best practices for preventing accidents such as this from occurring.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Please briefly describe your experience with grocery store safety and operations.

2. What procedures should have been followed to prevent this situation from happening?

Expert Witness Response E-008972

I have 35+ years in the grocery retail industry and have managed 4 supermarkets. I have set a policy to ensure a safe environment for shopping in a retail supermarket. I have attended training seminars and also provided them for my employees. All potential safety areas in a supermarket need routine maintenance. Part of the training policy should be to have someone from the department check those areas on a regular basis. It is the manager on duty's responsibility to periodically check the entire store for potential safety hazards. However, all employees should be trained to recognize an area that could be a safety hazard.