Texas H-E-B Accident Lawyer

How H-E-B Accidents Happen

Supermarkets like H-E-B present significant trip hazards capable of causing injuries ranging from sore muscles and minor scrapes to devastating head trauma and spinal cord injuries.

One common cause of accidents in these establishments is trip hazards. If you’ve been injured in a trip and fall accident at an H-E-B grocery store, you may be entitled to compensation.

Trip hazards in supermarkets and grocery stores include:

• Uneven flooring: Uneven flooring, broken tiles, or gaps can cause someone to trip and fall.
• Cluttered aisles: Aisles cluttered with merchandise or displays can obstruct walkways.
• Exposed wires or cables: Wires or cables not secured or covered can pose a tripping hazard.
• Wet floors: Spillages, leaks, freshly cleaned areas, and wet entryways caused by customers tracking in snow can create a slippery surface and should be signposted with warning signs or cordoned off to avoid accidents.
• Poorly maintained sidewalks or parking lots: Cracks, potholes, uneven surfaces, and poorly maintained asphalt can cause an accident before customers enter the store.

Other hazards include:

• Stocking pallets, ladders, or boxes blocking aisles or walkways
• Heavy products falling from shelves and hitting customers
• Poor or faulty lighting
• Faulty shopping carts.

Holding H-E-B Liable for Your Accident

Property owners in Texas owe a duty to individuals on their premises to create and maintain a safe environment. This duty means H-E-B stores must legally keep their premises safe for customers and staff. The respondeat superior law means employers can be liable when an employee is negligent at work. For example, if you’re hurt in an H-E-B accident because a store manager fails to fix uneven flooring or a stock clerk creates a trip hazard by leaving pallets strewn about in aisles, you can pursue a claim against the supermarket chain to recover compensation in a Texas premises liability personal injury claim.

H-E-B is no stranger to lawsuits.

Thousands of suits have been filed against the supermarket titan and its portfolio of companies (including H-E-B Plus!, Mi Tienda, and Joe V’s Smart Shop) — and many more claims are brought and settled out of court.

6-Figure Settlement for H-E-B Slip and Fall Accident

In 1997, a jury awarded $150,000 in damages for a slip and fall accident at a San Benito H-E-B in 1993. The plaintiff, Maria Resendez, suffered a knee injury and needed surgery after slipping on loose grapes on the floor. Multiple family members testified about how the injury impacted Maria’s life, preventing her from cooking, standing up too long, and being active. Resendez successfully argued that the store failed to keep the floor clean and free from hazards.

Comparative Negligence Allowed Partly-Liable Victim to Recover Compensation

In a 1996 judgment, Vinnie Bilotto recovered compensation for an elbow injury sustained after slipping on spilled root beer while shopping at H-E-B. As a former professional wrestler accustomed to falling in the ring, he didn’t think he was hurt at the time and only reported the accident when encouraged by another customer who saw him fall. Four hours later, he visited the emergency room for treatment and was released, but he later found that persistent pain prevented him from wrestling again.

After a week-long trial, jurors determined Bilotti was entitled to the following damages:

• $97,000 for medical expenses ($17,000 for past medical expenses; $80,000 for future medical expenses)
• $50,000 for loss of past earning capacity
• $35,000 for loss of future earning capacity.

However, the jury found Bilotti 50% at fault. Under Texas’s modified comparative negligence law, Bilotti recovered the remaining 50% — a total of $91,000 — plus $40,346.73 prejudgment interest (the interest Bilotti would have accrued from when he was entitled to receive the payment).

Failed Claim Shows the Challenges of Premises Liability Claims

In 2016, Linda and Manuel Castro sued H-E-B after Linda slipped and fell on a lettuce leaf at an Austin branch. The complaint alleged that Castro sustained “extensive injuries to body and mind” that continue to cause substantial pain and suffering, including loss of intimacy and consortium with her husband. H-E-B denied the allegation that employees knew or should have known of the danger. The court agreed and dismissed the case, triggering a series of motions and appeals. The Court of Appeals upheld the judgment, demonstrating the importance of evidence of negligence in pursuing a claim.

Private Settlement Shows Value of Mediation

In 2021, Elicia Farrar filed a lawsuit after slipping at a Houston H-E-B. An employee at the store had been spraying water on an area of the produce section, causing the floor to become wet. Farrar sustained painful injuries, physical impairment, and mental anguish. The original complaint sought over $200,000 but no more than $1,000,000. Three months later, the case was closed, with Farrar and H-E-B agreeing to a settlement in mediation.

Premises liability claims can be challenging, but you might be entitled to significant compensation if you’ve suffered an accident, and our Texas H-E-B accident attorney will fight your corner to recover what you’re owed.

What Compensation Can a Texas H-E-B Accident Lawyer Recover?

H-E-B accidents can cause injuries ranging from mild to severe. Life-limiting injuries can reduce quality of life and make the most basic tasks impossible, while minor or moderate injuries such as sprains, bruising, dislocation, broken bones, abrasions, and cuts requiring stitches can have a significant physical and financial impact.

The cost of initial medical treatment can be staggering, and you may incur additional costs for surgery, physical therapy, scans and tests, and medication, all the while needing time off work to recover and losing wages.

You are entitled to recover all losses you’ve suffered because of your injury, including future medical expenses and lost income, and services or equipment you may need to manage your injury, such as adaptive aids to support independence.

You can also receive financial relief for non-economic damages, compensating you for the harm you have suffered and the overall impact of your injury on your life. Non-economic damages can include:

• Emotional distress
• Scarring
• Embarrassment
• Physical pain
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of enjoyment.

Recovering Compensation for an H-E-B Accident as an Employee

Accidents do not only happen to customers; employees are equally at risk.

Whether you work in an H-E-B store or an offshoot owned by the H-E-B Grocery Company parent brand, you can recover compensation if you’ve suffered an injury because of your employer’s negligence.

In many states, employers must carry workers’ compensation (workers’ comp) insurance, which covers an employee’s medical expenses and lost wages if they’re hurt at work. Texas is the only state not to mandate workers’ comp insurance, although many companies have a policy, as it protects against legal action if the employer is negligent.

H-E-B is not one such company. As a non-subscriber, the company offers its own benefits program. H-E-B benefit plans — and workers’ compensation insurance more widely — do not award compensation for non-economic losses, which can be substantial.

However, as H-E-B opts out of a traditional workers’ comp policy, you can recover these damages in a personal injury claim. Our Texas work injury lawyer can determine if you have a case and if H-E-B’s negligence has caused your injury.