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Black Friday is around the corner; many Americans will be heading to stores to get the best deals offered by retailers. Shoppers line up hours before the stores open, and often, mayhem ensues after the stores open. As a result, shoppers may suffer injuries, and the stores may be liable for the customer’s injuries. This article will discuss 2 examples of when customers may be injured and the store’s liability in these situations.
Trip & Fall Accident in a PA Store
Special product displays are often set up in store aisles on Black Friday. Merchandise that is usually on the shelves may be put on a special display rack in the aisles or just stacked up on top of each other. Oftentimes, the stores are crowded and with customers grabbing at everything, these displays often become tripping hazards. Merchandise may fall and become scattered on the floor waiting for a customer to trip and fall over it.
For instance, a customer is walking through a toy store in Philadelphia on Black Friday. As she is walking and looking at some toys on a shelf, she trips over some toys that are laying on the floor. She didn’t see them because she was looking up at the toys on the shelves. As a result, she fractures her wrist in an attempt to break her fall. In such a case, the customer may file a Philadelphia trip and fall lawsuit against the store, and the toy store may be liable for the customer’s trip and fall accident.
Pennsylvania trip and fall accident laws require stores to keep their customers safe from unreasonably dangerous conditions. Toys scattered on the floor constitute dangerous tripping hazards. Because it’s Black Friday, it is reasonable that the store knows that items may often end up on the floor, and the store needs to make sure that aisles are free of tripping hazards by having employers check the aisles all the time.
Related: Store Accident Lawsuits in Pennsylvania – Financial Compensation (What type of financial compensation is available for customers who fall in PA stores?)
Trampling Accident in a PA Store
Another fall down accident that may happen on Black Friday is a customer being trampled over by other shoppers. For instance, a crowd forms outside a store that is offering deep discounts on various merchandise. As it gets closer to opening time, the crowd begins to push forward to the door. When the store finally opens the door, the crowd pushes and runs through the door. One of the customers trips and falls to the floor. She is unable to get up because of the crowd, and other customers trample over her. As a result, she suffers serious injuries. This example may seem extreme, but unfortunately it happens. This happened to an 11 year old child a couple of years ago at a Walmart that opened on Thanksgiving night in Ohio. The girl was trampled by shoppers who rushed inside the store.
Depending on the circumstances, a store could be held liable for such accidents. If the store did not have employees stationed at the front door to control the crowd entering the store, the store could be held liable. Knowing that customers often charge inside the store on Black Friday, the store should have had employees at the door controlling the number of customers entering the store at one time to avoid trampling accidents. The store could have allowed a certain number of customers to enter at one time, rather than letting everyone in at the same time.
In PA store trip and fall accident cases, there are often different theories of liability with regard to the store’s liability depending on the facts. An experienced trip and fall lawyer in Philadelphia, PA will determine the best theory of liability in order to win the case. Let the trip and fall accident lawyers at LBK help. If you fell at a store and sustained injuries, call to schedule a FREE consultation.
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