A slip and fall accident is a commonplace happening that occurs in Connecticut and elsewhere across the country daily in multiple locales and under widely varying circumstances.

In many cases, the mishap owes directly to the negligent act or omission of a third party, often a property owner or surrogate having a duty to supervise and maintain a home or business. Landlords and property managers have a legal obligation to take reasonable steps to mitigate risks that can harm persons on their premises, with failure to do so entitling an injured party to a legal recovery for any injuries sustained by a breach of that duty.

A slip and fall case in Georgia -- yet with broad applicability in Connecticut and all other states -- illustrates well how a business owner on occasion combines negligence with active wrongdoing. It further underscores how an experienced personal injury attorney can focus an inquiry, identify inconsistencies and advocate aggressively for a client to obtain an optimal outcome.

The facts of the case are simple. They involve Kroger Co., the nation's largest supermarket chain, operative in Connecticut and many other states. A shopper slipped on crushed fruit in a Kroger store near Atlanta. He suffered a spinal cord injury, required surgery and was thereafter unable to work.

The company initially claimed that store cameras were not pointed on the accident area.

The plaintiff's attorney asked for a demonstration of the store's video system during a deposition. What it revealed countered the store's assertions. In fact, the cameras had been pointed directly at the accident site.

"They deliberately erased it, lied to us, and gave us a phony sample of video footage to throw us off their trail," stated the victim's lawyer.

The judge in the case sanctioned Kroger, ruling that it had intentionally manipulated and destroyed material evidence.

That deceit obviously influenced the jury, which returned a verdict last month awarding the plaintiff $2.3 million in damages.

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Gwinnett jury returns $2.3 million verdict in slip-and-fall lawsuit against Kroger" Andria Simmons, "Jan. 26, 2012