Your local grocery store may be one of the most dangerous places in the neighborhood. Hundreds of grocery store customers are injured every year due to wet surfaces and improperly stocked items. Although most of us exercise a normal amount of caution while shopping, grocery stores have a duty to make sure that their customers are not placed in danger or injured while shopping.

One New England recently filed a premises liability lawsuit against a grocery store after he sustained severe personal injuries due to an accident that happened as he shopped. The store customer said that he was struck in the face by a can of tomato sauce one day at his local supermarket.

The 54-year-old pulled one of cans from a shelf above his head and was knocked down by a tide of cans. He suffered a cut to his nose ridge, back injuries, dizziness, and bruising, among other things. The man filed a lawsuit seeking reimbursement for his medical expenses associated with this traumatizing and embarrassing accident. Accidents such as this can generate thousands of dollars of medical bills. The store customer says that he had to pay for his emergency hospital visit, medical care, diagnostic tests and prescriptions.

Even worse, the store customer also suffered lost work time and quality of life from the personal injuries that he sustained in this supermarket. It is unclear whether the cans were improperly stored on the shelf or if the supermarket has a history of other customer injuries due to falling merchandise.

Source: Business Insurance, "OFF BEAT: Falling tomato sauce cans fail to amuse injured customer," Jan. 11, 2012