According to Walmart’s corporate site, there are 5,214 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in the U.S. Needless to say, there are A LOT of injuries on store premises every year, including slip and fall accidents, falling merchandise injuries, unsafe floor conditions, and negligent maintenance hazards. So much so, that there is an entire company dedicated to managing and mitigating injury claims arising from Walmart stores nationwide.
If you have been hurt in a Walmart slip and fall accident, you have likely had the displeasure of dealing with Walmart or a company called Claims Management, Inc. (CMI) first hand. So we are here to give you a little info on the who, what, why, and how of the first step in a Walmart slip and fall claim, and how these early interactions can directly impact the value of your injury case.
Who is Claims Management, Inc., or CMI?
Claims Management, Inc., or CMI for short, is an entity that has been set up to investigate and administer claims for Walmart’s insurance company. To our knowledge, CMI has no other clients besides Walmart, which makes the relationship unusually close for a so-called “independent” claims administrator. CMI representatives do not technically work for Walmart directly, but this separation allows Walmart to distance itself from the claims handling process while still controlling outcomes.
This structure is not accidental. By routing injury claims through CMI, Walmart adds an additional layer between itself and injured customers, making the process more confusing, more frustrating, and ultimately more favorable to Walmart.
CMI keeps calling, and calling, and calling – They must really care about me…
If you had a slip and fall accident, workplace accident, or any other accident at Walmart, a CMI representative will be contacting you—often within days of the incident. The CMI representatives are nothing if not persistent; they will call and call and call until they can pin you down.
You must be thinking, they really care about me and want to help. Not likely. They are tasked with investigating each Walmart slip and fall accident claim, but they go well past investigating. A better description is dissecting each claim line by line, searching for inconsistencies, alternative explanations, or statements they can later use against you.
The CMI representatives will often sound very sympathetic and caring—at first anyway. The tone of the CMI rep will frequently change as you go through the claims process, beginning concerned and friendly, but ultimately turning cold, dismissive, or even hostile once you stop cooperating. Mentioning that you are thinking about speaking with a lawyer to a CMI representative will have the same type of impact as light does to Dracula.
Why does CMI want to record my statement so badly?
Remember we mentioned dissecting each claim? Pinning you down with a recorded statement is priority number one for CMI representatives. They are highly trained to make the request for a recorded statement sound routine, harmless, and even mandatory.
Here is the critical fact you need to know: you are not required to give CMI a recorded statement after a Walmart accident. Not legally. Not contractually. Not ever.
In fact, we advise injured people to never give a recorded statement to CMI. There is zero benefit to you, and every possible benefit to Walmart. Even innocent-sounding questions about footwear, lighting, weather, or your prior medical history can later be twisted into arguments that you were careless, distracted, or already injured.
Once you say no to a recorded statement, expect pressure. The CMI representative may become angry, disappointed, or attempt guilt-based persuasion. Stand firm.
Why did CMI ask me to send in my medical bills (and medical records), but they did not pay them?
We call this “the free look.” CMI claims representatives are experts in subtle manipulation. Asking you to send in your medical bills and records makes it feel like progress is being made and that help is coming.
But notice what they never say: “We will pay your medical bills.”
Instead, they collect your records to build an investigative file against you, looking for prior injuries, gaps in treatment, degenerative conditions, or anything they can argue reduces or eliminates Walmart’s responsibility. Once CMI has what it wants, it is common for communication to slow or stop entirely.
Many injured people receive a formal denial letter shortly after providing medical records, often citing lack of liability, pre-existing conditions, or insufficient evidence—arguments crafted using the very documents you supplied.
The big Walmart slip and fall secret revealed: CMI’s real purpose is to help Walmart avoid liability
CMI was established for one primary reason: to help Walmart avoid paying injury claims. Their tactics are standardized, aggressive, and refined through thousands of claims nationwide.
If CMI cannot deny liability outright, they will attempt to minimize your injuries, argue that your pain is unrelated, or claim that your condition existed before the fall. Common defenses include alleged degenerative changes, delayed treatment, or claims that the hazard was “open and obvious.”
These tactics are used across the board for Walmart accident claims, including customer injuries, employee injuries, and third-party contractor incidents.
How to use these Walmart slip and fall secrets to your advantage
When people are injured, they are often at their most vulnerable. Walmart, through CMI, will try to take full advantage of that vulnerability. Understanding how Walmart slip and fall claims actually work is the first step toward protecting yourself.
The next step we recommend is speaking with a personal injury lawyer who has experience handling large corporate defendants like Walmart. A skilled injury lawyer can manage all communication with CMI, preserve evidence, and prevent you from making mistakes that can permanently damage your case.
Proving a slip and fall injury case against Walmart is difficult enough. Giving Walmart and CMI ammunition can be fatal to your claim.
If you have been injured in a slip and fall at Walmart—or any other accident at a Walmart store—do yourself a favor and contact us before speaking further with CMI. The decisions you make early can determine whether your case is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, or nothing at all.
