Hurt During Holiday Shopping? Who’s Responsible for Accidents in Atlanta Stores?

Holiday shopping is a tradition during the festive season. In addition to Black Friday, Christmas Eve is also one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Unfortunately, on any day during the holidays, there is a risk of an injury in a store in Atlanta.

Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that approximately 250 injuries occur every single day during the holiday season. Many of those injuries occur while trying to buy gifts for others. If you are hurt in a retail establishment of any sort, from a boutique to a major shopping mall, you need to know what your rights are.

With help from an Atlanta slip and fall lawyer or premises liability attorney, you could potentially hold the store owner accountable for losses resulting from your injuries. Call Glass & Robson today at 404-751-4702 to learn more about when an attorney can assist you in making a store or mall pay for damages you’ve endured in a holiday shopping accident.

Who is Responsible for Atlanta Slip & Falls or Accidents in Stores?

When an injury happens in a store, it is important to determine what the cause of the injury was and whether the store should have prevented the injury if the store had reasonable policies and procedures in place to protect customers.

A retail establishment is not necessarily responsible for every single injury that occurs on its premises.  Stores have specific legal duties or obligations to their visitors, and they can be held responsible for an accident only if the visitor got hurt as a direct result of the store’s failure to fulfill its obligations.

A body of law called premises liability law determines what a store owner’s responsibility is.  Since store owners benefit economically from customers coming onto their property, premises liability laws impose the highest duty of care on stores that invite customers in. This means that these store owners have more responsibility than an average homeowner would make sure visitors are safe.

A store owner should inspect the premises regularly, look for signs of trouble, and either correct the problem or alert consumers to any risks. This is especially important during the holiday season when many things could go wrong including:

  • Debris in walkways due to excess inventory or frenzied shoppers pulling items off store shelves.  Stores could be held accountable for slip and falls that happen if they fail to take reasonable steps to keep aisles clear.
  • Incidents of trampling or shoving as consumers rush to try to snatch up bargains. A store could sometimes be responsible for this due to a failure to provide adequate crowd control.
  • Acts of violence. Opportunistic criminals sometimes target holiday shoppers who the thieves believe have lots of money and valuable purchases. If a store is aware of the risk of violence and does not have adequate security to try to stop it, the store could be held liable for damages that violence causes.

These are just some of many situations where stores may be held accountable to a consumer who gets hurt during the holiday shopping season. If you or someone you love was hurt or killed while shopping, you should talk with an experienced attorney to find out if you could pursue a damage claim.

Glass & Robson provides legal representation to injured clients in Atlanta, GA and surrounding areas. Call 404-751-4702 or contact us online today to talk with an Atlanta injury lawyer who can fight for your right to compensation if you were harmed.