Retail stores are the sites of thousands of injuries each year. Although the average American goes in and out of retail stores hundreds of times—perhaps thousands of times—in his or her lifetime without incident, the reality is that retail stores and their surroundings are often not maintained in a safe condition, resulting in accidents and fatalities that are due to the property owner’s negligence. Gacovino, Lake & Associates is a highly respected personal injury law firm representing individuals who have been hurt in a retail store accident.
Many Locations, Many Possible Injuries
The term “retail store” can be considered as covering quite a number of establishments, including those that sell:
- Groceries
- Clothing, shoes
- Sporting goods
- Pet supplies
- Jewelry
- Office supplies
- Services—such as postal, photocopying, tailoring, income tax help, etc.
A Wide Variety of Scenarios
The injuries and fatalities that happen inside or on the grounds of retail stores arise in a wide variety of scenarios, such as:
- Objects that fall off a shelf or display, hitting a customer on the head or foot; broken bones and head injuries are the result
- A slip and fall injury due to a slippery surface (floor, parking lot, sidewalk, stairs)
- A trip and fall caused by loose carpeting, entry mats
- A ladder falling on a customer
- A customer is hit by a pallet mover or a loading cart
- Escalator- and elevator-related injuries
- Potholes in a parking lot, or damaged sidewalks; floor elevation changes
- The collapse of part of the building—e.g., floor, balcony, ceiling, roof
- Sexual assaults by another customer, staff or an intruder
- Fires and explosions
- Toxic substances—particularly at retail stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s
A Duty to Maintain Safe Premises
Owners of property to which the public is invited—such as retail stores—have a legal duty to keep their premises in safe, good condition, inside and out. This may require regular maintenance of the property (e.g., clean-ups, repairs, adequate lighting), renovations, and security detail to protect the safety of customers (e.g., store cameras, security guards). When any of these standards are not met, the accidents and fatalities that result may be eligible for a legal remedy, including financial compensation for damages such as:
- Medical treatment—immediate and future
- Lost income from missed work
- In fatal cases, all of the costs due to the loss of a loved one
- Out of pocket expenses
- Emotional suffering
If you have been impacted by an accident in a retail store, you may be entitled to compensation. For information about your specific case, contact Gacovino, Lake & Associates. We will discuss your concerns in a free and private consultation to determine how we can help you.
