Shopping is a popular activity in Georgia and across the country. Therefore, it is not surprising that thousands of shopping-related personal injury claims are filed yearly in the United States. A shopping injury is a personal injury that a customer incurs while visiting a public property, such as a grocery store, mall, pharmacy or other commercial property. The type of injury can range from minor to those more serious in nature, such as bone fractures, sprains, or back, head or neck injuries. In some cases, these injuries can be fatal.
Shopping-related injuries can occur for a number of reasons including slipping or falling in poorly lit areas, on slick floors, torn carpeting or after trying to grab a broken stair railing. Shoppers can also experience an injury in a store from overcrowding, a poorly maintained parking lot or from straining to grab an out-of-reach item. Other shopping injuries could result from an overturned shopping cart or a malfunctioning escalator.
Commercial business owners are required to exercise reasonable care in keeping their property free from hazards that can lead to injuries. For instance, they must make repairs to broken or damaged walkways, ensure areas have sufficient lighting, immediately attend to spills or other accidents, and replace non-working light fixtures in and around the store.
Under negligence laws, commercial property owners are responsible for keeping their property safe from known dangers. Therefore, customers who are severely injured while shopping on public property might consider consulting with a premises liability attorney to find out if they could hold the property owner liable for damages stemming from the accident.
Source: FindLaw, “Shopping Injuries Overview”, July 1, 2016