If you get injured while in a shopping mall, you may not know which party would be liable for your injuries if they were not of your own doing. The mall, after all, is more than just a set of shops. It also includes common areas, food courts, bathrooms, escalators and more.
At what point does liability belong to one party and not the other?
We have asked attorney, Alaina Sullivan, about who may be at fault in a situation like this. Here's her response:
Common Shopping Mall Accidents
Accidents happen all the time, and shopping malls are no different. Accidents can be anything from a slip and fall due to ice or snow, wet floors, cracked pavement in the parking lot or other obstructions. Merchandise can fall from displays or displays can break and come crashing down.
During particularly chaotic days, such as Black Friday, people can be trampled by other visitors at the mall. Escalator injuries can occur or falls from stairs. The opportunities are endless with how people can get hurt.
The point is, if it is a condition that could have been foreseen or prevented by the shopping mall company or retail store, you can seek compensation from one of these two parties.
Is A Store Liable For Customer Injury?
If you suffered an injury inside a store that was because of the store’s negligence, you may be able to hold the store liable for your injuries and any damages you suffered. Negligence means that the store has failed to take proper care in doing something.
That means they failed to mop up a spill, or they didn’t repair a loose tile, or they placed an item high knowing it had fall potential.
In this case, the store must have been aware of or known about the risk to customers. For example, they were told about a spill and put off cleaning it up, or the video camera shows the floor was wet for an hour before the fall and nothing was done. The store has the responsibility to make sure everything is safe. That means employees should be scheduled to walk the floors and check for hazards, or there should be periodic safety checks.
What To Do If You Are Injured In A Store
If you have suffered an injury in a store, there is a series of steps or protocol that you should adhere to so you can ensure your rights are protected and that you have the supporting evidence you need to be compensated for your injuries and damages. Here is a closer look at the things you should do should you suffer injuries in a store.
- Inform a store employee – Let a store employee know that you were injured and explain what happened. You should document the employee’s name and be sure to note down the time and date of the incident.
- Seek medical attention – Even if your injuries seem minor, seek medical attention. Injuries may not appear as bad as they actually are until a few days after the incident. You need to have the details on file should your injuries be worse than you initially believe.
- Maintain evidence – You will need to maintain evidence to support your claim. This means you will need documentation that details the name of the employee you told, the date and time of the incident, and the details surrounding the incident. Also, if possible, get a photo of where the incident took place and show what caused the incident. As an example, it could be a wet floor, a loose tile, or shelves stacked too high.
- Witnesses – Witnesses can be an asset to your personal injury claim after being injured in a store. You should ask any witnesses for their names and contact details. If possible, ask them to provide a written statement at that time. Also, check for video cameras. The court can subpoena video footage if it shows the details about your accident and it should provide supporting evidence as to what happened, how you were injured, and liability.
- Other documentation – Keep copies of medical records, medical bills, travel logs for medical appointments, proof of missed work and lost wages, and anything else applicable to your injury in the store. You must be able to support your compensation request by proving your losses.
You Are Invited
When you are on a business premises, such as a mall, you are considered an invitee. You do not need to be a paying customer to be covered by the store’s duty to maintain a safe environment.
Any person who is on the mall premises with the purpose of conducting business, whether that be to shop, to browse, to go to work, to conduct business or other related reasons. These categories of people would be covered under the mall’s liability.
The Location of the Incident
The location where the accident happened determines which entity you deal with first. If you are shopping in a retail store when the injury happened, you would seek compensation from the retail store first. The mall would be secondary in terms of any legal action.
However, if you were hurt in one of the common areas of the mail, you would sue the shopping mall instead. These areas include:
- Anywhere where people walk
- Public restroomsThe mall parking lot
- Elevators
- Escalators
- The food court
Duty of Care
The mall owners have a legal duty of care to protect visitors to their mall from harm. This duty means that the owners are responsible for customer safety and are liable for anything that puts that safety at risk. Every state has a law holding shopping mall owners to a rather strict duty to protect their visitors from undue harm.
This duty does not mean that they are liable for absolutely any type of injury that occurs on the premises, but they are liable for any injury that happened because of a dangerous condition in their mall or a condition that should have been reasonably foreseeable to be dangerous.
What Is Foreseeable?
Maintaining a safe mall is priority when it comes to avoiding accidents and personal injury liability. Malls are expected to look at the areas on their premises where it would be foreseeable that an accident would occur. Take escalators, for instance. Breakdowns happen on a regular basis, and malls are expected to run maintenance checks on these machines to ensure that injuries do not happen.
Retail stores are expected to ensure that floors are clear and displays and items are secure to avoid accidents. It is not a matter of being paranoid but being cautious and smart about what could or could not happen.
Not Everything is Covered
However, if another mall visitor drops something on the floor in your walking path, and you trip over this item, hurting yourself, the mall is not responsible for your injuries. If you are walking through the mall and solely paying attention to your phone and not watching where you are walking, the mall would not be liable in this situation either.
These incidents happened due to circumstances independent of the mall’s or store’s responsibility.
Having a Successful Claim
Malls contains dozens – if not hundreds – of stores. If you are injured in a store inside a mall, you may want to pursue a personal injury claim against the liable party. To increase the chances of having a successful claim, you will need to provide supporting evidence and documentation that details what happened, how it happened, when it happened, and why it happened.
When you are injured in a store in a shopping mall, you could suffer a variety of damages. When you pursue your accident injury claim, you will want to be sure to ask for damages for all your losses. It is important to gather supporting evidence and documentation and keep track of any expenses or losses associated with your accident.
There are many ways that you could be hurt while in a shopping mall. You could be injured by falling merchandise, you could slip and fall because of a wet floor, there could be loose floor tiles, the parking lot could have cracked pavement or broken concrete, or you may fall over a rug. Any of these could be because of the negligence of the mall or its employees.
The Damages From A Mall Accident
There are a variety of damages that you could suffer because of an accident at the mall. Common damages include medical bills and lost wages. You will also have pain and suffering, mental anguish, and you may even have permanent scarring and disfigurement.
You will need to maintain supporting documentation for all your losses, and you will need to itemize your damages. At that point, you can come up with a total for your claim. A personal injury lawyer can help you with this process. An attorney will be able to determine the extent of your damages and come up with a total for your claim.
You should consider your future losses as well. Sometimes – depending on the injury – you may need future medical care and you may find yourself missing more work in the future.
If injuries are serious, they can be disabling. In that case, you may not be able to return to work, or you may have to change to a lower paying profession. You will want to make sure your future loss of earnings is considered.
The Mall Tenants
Usually, the mall consists of multiple stores. These stores are operated by tenants. Since one company owns the mall and tenants run the store, the claims process could be complicated.
You may be left wondering who is responsible for your losses and who you should pursue your personal injury claim against. The mall management and the retailers may point the blame at each other.
As an example, you were inside a store shopping when you slipped and fell. There was a leak inside the store that caused you to slip. While the mall is liable for the leak and they are responsible for fixing the damages, the store is liable if they were aware that there was a problem and they didn’t address or warn customers.
As soon as they realize that there is a maintenance issue that needs attention, the store should notify the mall so it can be addressed. They should also post a warning to their customers, such as a wet floor sign, or completely block of the area. But, if there is no evidence to prove that the store knew about the hazard, then all liability may fall on the mall. Because of the complexity of such matters, a personal injury lawyer is needed.
There is always a gray area that affects liability and who is responsible. Because of the complexity of such cases, you should talk with a personal injury lawyer who handles such cases in your state. It could be challenging to get your claim underway, so you want to make sure your claim is on solid footing and is heading in the right direction.
Gathering Supporting Evidence
You want to make sure you have the right evidence and supporting documentation for your claim. To do this, you will need to get statements from witnesses or video images of the accident. Be sure to keep copies of medical bills and medical records. Also document any missed work and lost wages.
Malls and stores usually have surveillance cameras. A camera may have caught your accident on video. That video can be subpoenaed and used as evidence for your personal injury claim after you were injured in a store inside a shopping mall. The video footage might be able to help your lawyer determine who is liable for your injuries – the mall or the store.
You will want to be sure to include all your damages in your claim – past, present, and future losses. When you send your demand letter to the store and/or mall, you will want to itemize your losses and then come up with a total value for your settlement.
Here are some of the more commonly claimed damages in such accidents:
- Medical expenses – past, present, and future
- Lost wages – past, present, and future
- Pain and suffering
- Property damages – broken eyeglasses, etc.
- Mental anguish
- Permanent scarring and disfigurement
A personal injury attorney will be able to help determine liability and properly pursue the claim so you can recover the most compensation for your damages. When you hire a lawyer, you will not have to pay anything out of pocket. Instead, your attorney will receive the agreed percentage of your settlement instead of requiring a payment upfront.
There are laws that oversee such claims, and you have a time limit, which is called a statute of limitations, for pursuing such a claim. Don’t wait too late to file a personal injury claim after you were hurt while at a shopping mall. You will need the compensation to take care of your losses.
Contact an Attorney Today
A licensed personal injury attorney will be able to evaluate your case and determine if you have a claim against the other party’s insurance company.
For the best chance of receiving the compensation you need to pay for medical bills, auto body bills, and pain and suffering, you should speak with a personal injury attorney in your area today.
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