Food and kitchen connoisseurs alike love stores like Williams-Sonoma. It’s like a little bit of heaven right here on Earth.
Yet, if a shopping trip turns into a disaster because you get injured while you’re there, your life can become a total nightmare. Fortunately, if you were injured in a store, there could be help available.
What Happens If a You are Hurt in a Store?
Depending on the facts surrounding your injury, most of these claims fall under an area of civil law known as personal injury. The general concept involved in personal injury law is that of negligence. It means that someone does or doesn’t do something that they should. As a result, another person is injured in some way.
The Four Elements of a Personal Injury Claim
Personal injury claims rely on the four elements of negligence. If you are hurt while shopping and if you think that what happened to you includes the following four things, you need to make an appointment to discuss your claim with an experienced personal injury attorney. He or she will help you start your personal injury claim.
- A duty is owed to shoppers by the store. For instance, since Williams-Sonoma and other cooking-related stores usually sell cooking oils, there is a risk that a bottle could break and the floor could become slick and dangerous. If an employee knows that there is oil on the floor, there is usually a duty to put out signs to warn customers about the slick floor. There is generally a duty for the spill to also be cleaned up.
- The duty must be breached by the store and staff. If an employee knows about a slick floor and does absolutely nothing to protect shoppers, it may be that the legal duty was breached. This can be a difficult element. If you slip and fall while while shopping, you or the people that you are with may want to take photos of the area to document the scene. This can help your personal injury attorney with your claim.
- Someone must receive an actual injury. An actual injury can be physical, emotional, or financial. If you slipped, you may hit your head on a counter or the floor. You might break your wrist or even hurt your back. Those are examples of actual injuries. Without an actual injury, there is no claim for personal injury. This is because there wouldn’t be a victim in need of compensation for the injury. Compensating injured people is the goal of personal injury law.
- The injury must be caused because of the breach of duty. This final element looks at the cause of the injury. For instance, if you went into the store on crutches because of a broken ankle, slipping and falling wouldn’t be the cause of the broken ankle. However, if you went into the store without a broken bone and you slipped, fell, and broke your ankle, that could be seen as causation, or the cause of your injury.
Protect Your Legal Rights
If you’re hurt while shopping, you need to protect your legal rights and have your claim evaluated. Get in contact with a personal injury attorney right away to protect your rights!
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Williams-Sonoma, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
