You Didn’t Cause This. Why Should You Pay for It?
When store merchandise comes crashing down on you, everything changes in an instant. Suddenly you’re facing mounting medical bills, lost wages from missed work, physical pain and suffering, and uncertainty about who’s responsible for your injuries. These unexpected costs can quickly become overwhelming as you try to recover physically while navigating the complex legal landscape of premises liability claims.
At Wolf Law, PLLC, we specialize in helping Texas shoppers who have been injured by falling objects in retail environments. Our experienced premises liability attorneys understand exactly how to investigate these incidents, document evidence properly, and hold negligent retailers accountable for their failure to maintain safe shopping environments.
Understanding Retail Store Liability in Texas
Determining liability for falling objects in retail stores in Texas falls under what is known as “premises liability law.” Premises liability is a form of negligence involving the property owner’s responsibility or duty to ensure the premises are safe for visitors. In relation to a retail store, the store owner or operator must take reasonable steps to protect visitors from conditions that can cause harm to the visitors, including employees.
Texas also has categories of visitor status: Invitee, licensee, and trespassor. Property owners–in this case, the company that owns a retail store–are not responsible for the care or safety of everyone on their property, according to Texas Premises Liability law.
“This chapter does not relieve any owner, lessee, or occupant of real property of any liability that would otherwise exist for deliberate, wilful, or malicious injury to a person or to property.” – Tex. Civil Practice and Remedies § 75.001.
How Liability Affects a Claim of a Falling Object in a Retail Store
If you are hurt, you can work with an attorney to show the property owner was “grossly negligent,” meaning they knew about a risk to safety on their property and did not take reasonable action to mitigate that risk. Owners must clean up or repair the hazard or notify others with a sign or verbal warning.
The court will also take into account your own actions during the incident to determine if the falling object in a retail store was a result of the property owner’s negligence, created by your actions, or a combination of those. For example, suppose an item was stocked on a structurally sound shelf in a normal manner, but you climbed on the shelving unit to reach the product. If it falls on you, the court may determine you were at fault and not award any compensation for damages.
However, suppose the item was stocked improperly or stocked on a known unsound shelf and still fell. In that case, the store owner may be held liable if we can prove that they were negligent in stocking the product on the shelf or in failing to repair or replace the shelf itself.
What Constitutes Negligence for Premise Liability?
For premise liability, negligence is applied to the condition of the property and how the owner or operator of the property failed to address the alleged condition as it relates to the injury felt by the claimant. If you are struck by a fallen object, in order to prove negligence, your attorney will have to show, amongst other factors, that the property owner had knowledge of the unsafe environment.
“Knowledge of the unsafe environment” may be presented in two ways: actual notice or constructive notice. Actual notice is when a property owner knew about the condition and does not fix it. Constructive notice is when a property owner should have known about a dangerous condition long enough that a reasonable person would have fixed it. Either way, the property owner has a duty to protect the people coming into their store, particularly in a retail environment where it is known that many people will be visiting.
For example, what if an employee stocks items on a shelf that was known or should have been known to be structurally unsound? As you are walking by, the shelf gives way, and the heavy items fall on your shoulder, causing pain and the need for a doctor. In that set of facts, your attorney discern if the store owner was aware or should have been aware that the store shelf was unstable. As an invitee, a customer, the property owner has a duty to ensure that the store is safe and free of any hazardous conditions.
How Does Proportionate Responsibility Work in Texas?
Not all personal injury cases are clear-cut as to who or what actually caused the injury. In court, they will have to assess how much fault is assigned to each person or party involved in the incident under Tex. Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001. This statute describes how the Texas judicial system will determine responsibility for damages when multiple parties, including you, are proportionately at fault.
If you are found to be more than 50% at fault for the falling object in a retail store, you may not be able to get any compensation at all. However, if the majority of fault is assigned to the defendant (in this case, the retail store) and other third parties (for example, another shopper), the court will divide up the total responsibility among them and order them to pay out a proportional amount of the recovered damages.
This means that if the court found you to be 20% at fault, another shopper to be 25% at fault, and the retail store to be 55% at fault, they would each pay that percentage of the total compensation, with your 20% subtracted (you cannot pay yourself).
Responsibility Ultimately Depends on Proof and Evidence
As the victim of a falling object in a retail store, you may believe you know what happened and that it was the store’s fault. However, when in court, you and your premises liability attorney will have to work together to successfully demonstrate who is to blame with clear evidence and an accurate presentation of the events. Without these, the court will not be able to award you any damage recovery due to you having an unsubstantiated claim.
When you begin working with Wolf Law, we will use our successful track record of personal injury case results to start building arguments for your case. Gathering evidence like security camera footage, first-responder records, and witness testimony will be essential in convincing the court that your account of events is, in fact, the truth. We will also take the time to get to know you and your case so that when we present your case in court, you feel comfortable that we are accurately and carefully representing you.
While you focus on recovering from your injuries and getting your life back on track, Wolf Law, PLLC will do the hard work of making sure no stone is left unturned so that your case has a fair shot at success. Contact us to arrange a free consultation and get started today.