Buying new clothes, bedding, and other things can be a lot of fun. Yet, accidents can and do happen. When someone gets hurt in a retail environment while they are shopping, it often falls under a broad area of civil law known as personal injury.
How Could a Personal Injury Happen?
Personal injury is made up of four elements. Primarily, personal injury, regardless of where it occurs, is caused by the negligence of at least one party.
There are two main forms of negligence that courts generally consider. There is pure negligence and there is contributory (or comparative) negligence. With contributory negligence, the court will consider whether the injured person had any responsibility for what happened. If they are found more than 50% negligent for their own injuries, most courts will not award any damages.
For example, if there was water leak on the floor of a department store and many "wet floor" signs were posted but you ignored them and slipped anyway, you may be held responsible for the accident.
Here are the four elements and an example of how it may happen when you’re shopping at any store:
- There must be a duty for the store. Duty means that a party is required to do or not do something. For instance, every department store has a duty to keep their floors safe and dry.
- The duty must be breached. An example would be if a bottle of lotion happened to break in the beauty department and get on the floor and the store employees did not put out signs notifying of the slippery floor or try to clean it up.
- Someone must actually suffer an injury because of the breach. Lotion on the floor isn’t enough to send a personal injury claim to the court. If someone were shopping and slipped and fell because of the lotion, there could be an actual injury. Injuries do not have to only be physical. They can also be financial or emotional. So, for instance, if someone shopping slipped, but they only dropped and broke their phone, that could be considered a financial injury. There are many damages you can receive in a personal injury claim.
- The injury must actually be caused by the breach. If you came into a department store with a sprained ankle and slipped in the lotion, they most likely would not be able to meet this element. Their ankle was sprained before the fall.
Hurt While Shopping?
If you believe that you suffered a personal injury while shopping a any store, you should make an appointment to talk with a personal injury attorney. Each state has their own law that says just how long you have to file your claim, so don’t delay.
A slip and fall at a department store could cause you financial distress, permanent injuries, and a lot of stress. Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means that you don’t pay anything unless they successfully litigate or settle your claim!
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Dillard's, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
