Category Archives: Slip and Fall Injuries

INJURIES AT SHOPPING MALLS

The Duties of Shopping Malls to Guests

Injuries at shopping malls. Owners of Shopping malls owe a responsibility or a duty to their guests to maintain their malls and keep the premises safe for all of their customers. This duty extends to all persons who may be at the mall. It does not matter if you buy anything from any of the retail outlets, you are still owed the duty. Shopping mall owners are required to keep entrances and exits clear from any unreasonable hazards and the must also repair any dangers that exists on their property. If the Shopping mall fails to keep their property safe, they might be liable for any injuries caused by their failure to maintain the property. There are numerous ways a shopping mall can breach this duty to maintain the premises in a safe condition. Some examples include failing to repair leaking roofs and allowing water on the tile floors to become a slip hazard, failing to repair faulty escalators that cause injury, failing to replace cracked or broken tile causing a trip injury etc.

What is a Shopping Mall?

Most people think of a “Shopping Mall” as a large indoor shopping center with large stores, small shops and a food court like the Galleria Mall, The Fashion Show Mall, The Meadows Mall or the Summerlin Mall here in Clark County. However, for purposes of this article and for civil liability for injuries, A shopping mall aka Mall is a general term for a large indoor or outdoor shopping center. Therefore, this article is applicable to shopping centers like Towne Square, The District and all shopping locations where multiple stores or shops are located in one area. The term “mall“ refers to a “pedestrian promenade with shops along the walkways.

Is the Mall or the Store liable for my Injury?

The location where you are injured in the mall will determine who is liable for your injuries. The mall owners are not responsible for each and every injury that happens inside the mall. Sometimes the independent store owners may be held responsible if the hazardous condition or cause of the injury occurred inside an independent store. If your injury occurs inside one of the shops in the mall, that store owner is the entity or person that will be liable for your damages most of the time. However, of course, nothing in law is ever quit that simple. For example, if it was a leaking roof that caused a wet surface that caused you to fall inside a store, it can be the mall owners who are liable for creating the hazardous condition and the store responsibility for failing to clean up the area or warn customers of the hazard.

As a general matter, the mall owners are responsible for maintaining common areas including the entrances and exits, common walking areas in the mall, and parking lots. If your injury occurs in one of those areas, the mall owner is most likely responsible for the injuries you sustain. If you are inside a store when you sustain injury, it may be only the store owner who is liable. It is important to point out here the importance of collecting the proper evidence at the scene of the accident at the time it happens to determine who is liable for your injury. If you are injured in a shopping mall, take photographs of the hazard that caused your injury, and be sure to take the following steps while you are at the scene:

Take Photographs of the entire scene near and around where the injury occurred;
Request any and all surveillance footage from the manager, and if you give a written statement, be sure to put this request in that statement;
Obtain all eyewitness contact information yourself, do not rely on the store to obtain this information;
Make a report to the manager at the scene and request a copy of the accident report while you are at the scene.

In addition to the information you collect at the scene, the lease signed buy a store owner might also determine what party is responsible for your injuries. An example of this is a lease may establish which party is responsible for maintaining the entrance to the store. Collecting evidence at the scene is of critical importance.

Liability of the Mall Owner to Victims of Crime on the Premise

It is a sad reality that crime happens in all places, including shopping malls. In order for a mall owner to be civilly liable for injuries you sustain as the result of a violent crime happening to you at the mall, it will be necessary to prove that the mall owner failed to “exercise reasonable care or take reasonable precautions to protect potential victims of crime.” An example of this is having adequate security on the premises during all open business hours to deter such violent acts. However, “reasonable precautions” does not mean that a shopping mall owner must absolutely prevent any violent crime from occurring on the property. It simply means that they must take reasonable precautions.

If you are the victim of a violent crime at a shopping mall, it will be necessary to prove that the crime committed against you was both “foreseeable and that the owner of the mall did not take reasonable precautions to protect customers from the foreseeable threat.” If you are the victim of a violent crime at a shopping mall, call our office at TheOneLawyer.com as soon as possible for a free consultation to discuss your injuries and the possible liability for your personal injuries sustained at the shopping mall.

Making a Claim Against a Shopping Mall

If you have been injured at a shopping mall, call us at TheOneLawyer.com for a free consultation to discuss the personal injuries you sustained at the shopping mall. An attorney can gather and evaluate evidence. In addition, an attorney will be able to file a complaint and be able to request documents, subpoena maintenance records, interview witnesses, and conduct depositions to preserve witness testimony

At the law offices of TheOneLawyer.com, we will also locate possible claims against other parties, depending on the nature of the injury. Examples of third-party liability include the manufacturer of a faulty escalator, elevator, or the security company hired to provide security. In addition, there may be ADA issues for handicap guests, or liability by a local government agency for failure to thoroughly inspect the premises or failing to assure that the building was up to code.

Getting a Lawyer to Fight for You

You may look for a personal injury attorney who has the experience handling claims against shopping malls for severe injuries. There are lawyers who fight against large commercial venues like shopping malls, retails stores, hotels and all commercial business who may negligently cause injuries to their guests.

WHY I AM GRATEFULL 2022: On this Sunday morning I will be volunteering at Young Men’s Service League (YMSL) with my son to discuss career options and my topic, of course, law school and becoming an attorney. I am great full for the chance to volunteer in our community with my son and answer the boys’ questions about law school and the practice of law. This is a great organization I will have the privilege of volunteering in with my three sons for a decade. It is a great community organization to provide much needed service to many local charities. It is important for all of us to be the change we want to see in the world by making gratitude a part of each day. If we all practice gratitude more regularly, the world will be a kinder place. Each of my blogs will contain something I am grateful for and reviewed in our year end blog. I hope that you will also have a lengthy list by the end of 2022. I hope that by reflecting on gratitude, we will find the positive of everyday, even the days that are stressful.

We fight hard with this companies for our clients every day and we are grateful you have chosen TheOneLawyer.com to fight your you and your family after a car accident and help you recover for the injuries sustained in that car accident. At TheOneLawyer.com, we are here to serve our community and provide legal services in the Henderson and Las Vegas area and we are grateful for this opportunity. We are a boutique law firm providing experienced and personal representation to injured clients. At the Law Offices of Laura Payne, Esq. TheOneLawyer.com we provide professional and personal service to each and every one of our clients on various legal matters and have over 15 years of experience in reviewing insurance policies and in Nevada insurance law. If you have a question regarding any type of personal injury or paying your medical bills from an accident, please do not hesitate to call the offices of TheOneLawyer.com and speak directly to attorney Laura Marie Payne, Esq. a Henderson Injury Attorney for over 15 years. Laura is recognized as one of Nevada’s Top 100 Lawyers. She has the experience and knowledge to obtain the maximum settlement you deserve. Please call our office if you or a loved one is injured. We can make sure that you receive the care you need and deserve and advise on how to preserve evidence.

At our office, we are experienced in helping injured victims get the compensation to which they are entitled. Insurance companies never have the best interest of the injured person at the top of their priorities. They want to pay as little on every claim as possible. Having worked for an insurance company as an attorney for 9 years before opening my boutique law firm specializing in helping injured people, I have reviewed thousands of auto accident claims and policy provisions.

At the Henderson and Las Vegas Accident injury law offices of TheOneLawyer.com, Laura Payne, Esq. and her staff are here to help you and your family in the event that accidents and tragedies occur. For any of your legal needs, do not hesitate to contact our Henderson and Las Vegas Accident injury offices. TheOneLawyer.com is a boutique, family-owned law firm that specializes in helping injured people and the community of Las Vegas and Henderson Nevada with legal issues involving auto accidents, wrongful deaths, slip and falls, truck accidents, injuries to children, bicycle accidents, dog bites, product liability claims, and all types of injury claims. Please do not hesitate to call us anytime you have a legal question or you or a loved one has sustained an injury at 702-450-4868 and text 24/7 at 702-600-0032.

CLAIMS AGAINST HOME DEPOT FOR INJURIES

Home Depot is a large chain home improvement store with over 2,000 stores nationwide and over 20 stores in Nevada. Home Depot sells home improvement and construction materials for residential customers and commercial builders. I cannot imagine that you have not been to a Home Depot store at some point in your life to pick up a tool, light switch cover, paint or any of the literally thousands of products available to make our homes and lives more comfortable and beautiful. When I was younger, I would wander the mall after work in search of the perfect weekend outfit, sipping a giant overpriced lemonade. Now, I wander the aisles of Home Depot endlessly sipping an overpriced coffee searching for the perfect shelves to organize my pantry LOL. It is a great store when it comes to price and selection for home improvement. The typical Home Depot store is usually bustling with activity, especially as an “essential business” during the pandemic. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Home Depot faces a sizable number of lawsuits by customers injured because of the negligence of employees or the sale of defective products that cause injury. All retail businesses have an obligation to maintain their premises in a “reasonably safe condition and have a duty to warn consumers of any potential dangers or hazards.” This is why you see little yellow or orange cones around a wet or broken area in a store on occasion, to warn shoppers.

Because slip and fall accidents happen at Home Depot, like most retailers, they are frequently the defendant in premises liability lawsuits. Home Depot is a great company that takes great care in protecting its guests. However, like in most large retail companies, there are a lot of employees working every day and mistakes happen.

Having worked for a large insurance company for many years, and having handled many claims against large retailers, it is my experience that while large companies will rightfully fight against frivolous claims, they will also pay a reasonable value on legitimate claims that are properly brought against them when the evidence establishes their liability. That is why it is critical to take the proper steps at the scene to preserve your claim and call us at TheOnewlawyer.com for your personal injury claim against Home Depot.

Types of Claims Against Home Depot

There are many distinct types of personal injuries that result for an accident on the premises of Home Depot or from a product sold. The most common injury accident that we have seen result from slip and fall accidents on the premises, claims involving excessive force from Home Depot security, and Defective products such as Defective Husky/Tri-Cam ladders, One World Technologies/Ryobi Technologies/Ridgid table saws and other defective products.

Past Successful Injury Claims Against Home Depot

The following are synopses of some personal injury settlements and jury verdicts against Home Depot nationwide. These are only examples of real cases. Every claim is unique, and the facts need to be established and investigated immediately following the injury.

Jury Verdict in Tennessee 2012 for $809,241; In this case, Home Depot driver veered across the center line on the road and struck the Plaintiff head-on. Plaintiffs sustained a serious neck injury that required surgery. Plaintiff incurs $ 36,241 in medical bills. Home Depot’s settlement offer pretrial was $200,000.
Jury Verdict in New Jersey 2011 for $975,000 ; 44-year-old in New Jersey was in Home Depot parking lot and was waiting near his vehicle for a propane tank delivery. Unfortunately, wind dislodged a stocked cart causing it to roll down a hill and strike the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff sustained a back injury including a partial vertebral fracture requiring surgery. According to Bob Bratt he filed suit against Home Depot and the owner of the cart, claiming that the owner of the cart should have secured it safely, and that Home Depot was negligent by allowing carts to parked. The jury found Home Depot 80% responsible and the cart owner of the cart 20% responsible.
Settlement in Boston, Massachusetts for $425,000; 2012: Plaintiff was a welder going down a ladder while on a jobsite. As he descended the ladder, one of the ladder’s top rungs detached from the side rails causing him to fall. The plaintiff sustained a rotator cuff shoulder injury that required two surgeries. Plaintiff filed suit against the ladder’s manufacturer, Tricam, and Home Depot where the ladder was purchased.
Jury Verdict in Oregon. 2017: $4,527,799: Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against ladder manufacturer Tricam and Home Depot for injuries resulting from a fall due to a defective ladder. The jury found Tricam/Home Depot 70% responsible for the harm that was caused and 30% was attributed to the Plaintiff. The verdict was later reduced by the trial judge to $1.9 million.
Settlement in California 2017: $101,000. A female child sustained permanent scarring after a display cabinet fell down on top of her when she opened the cabinet doors.
Jury Verdict in New Jersey 2011: $159,125.: This case involved a 57-year-old electrical contractor who was walking near the entrance of a Home Depot store and fell on a patch of ice. He sustained a torn quadricep which required surgery. Home Depot claimed the area of the fall was inspected two hours before plaintiff’s fall. Home Depot argued that they did not have sufficient notice of the condition. The jury did not agree with Home Depot.

Jury Verdict: $624,472.45 California 2013 Plaintiff was a 27-year-old correctional officer who sustained injury at a California Home Depo when a palm tree for sale fell and struck her left shoulder. Plaintiff filed suit against Home Depot claiming failure to properly maintain the tree resulting in a dangerous condition. Home Depot raised the defense the tree only grazed Plaintiff, and that she did not fall to the ground.

Identity Theft Class Action Lawsuit

In addition to person injury lawsuits, a class action lawsuit has been filed against Home Depot following a serious data breach that exposed the credit card information for millions of customers. This case has been filed in federal court in Illinois and alleges that Home Depot failed to protect its customers’ personal data.

Who Can Sue Home Depot?

If you are a Home Depot shopper who has been injured in a Home Depot, you can sue Home Depot for your injuries. Employees of Home Depot can sue the company for such things as sexual harassment. However, employees of Home Depot injured on the job, are usually limited to a workers’ compensation claim, but there can be exceptions.

Getting a Lawyer to Fight Home Depot

TheOneLawyer.com is handling person injury cases against Home Depot. At TheOneLawyer.com we take serious injury and wrongful death cases retail businesses like Home Depot. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of the negligence of Home Depot or by a defective product purchased at Home Depot, call us today at 702-450-4868 to speak directly to Laura Payne, Esq. for a free consultation.

WHY I AM GRATEFULL 2022: Today I found out a colleague I have worked with for many years is leaving for an amazing opportunity. I am sad and stressed about their departure, but I am going to choose to be grateful for the years I have gotten to work with him and the journey to find a replacement who will bring innovative ideas to our firm. It is important for all of us to be the change we want to see in the world by making gratitude a part of each day. Accepting change, especially the change we do not want, with a positive outlook is part of being grateful. If we all practice gratitude more regularly, the world will be a kinder place. Each of my blogs will contain something I am grateful for and reviewed in our year end blog. I hope that you will also have a lengthy list by the end of 2022. I hope that by reflecting on gratitude, we will find the positive of everyday, even the days that are stressful.

We fight hard for our clients every day and we are grateful you have chosen TheOneLawyer.com to fight for you and your family after a car accident and help you recover for the injuries sustained in that car accident. At TheOneLawyer.com, we are here to serve our community and provide legal services in the Henderson and Las Vegas area and we are grateful for this opportunity. We are a boutique law firm providing experienced and personal representation to injured clients. At the Law Offices of Laura Payne, Esq. TheOneLawyer.com we provide professional and personal service to each and every one of our clients on various legal matters and have over 15 years of experience in reviewing insurance policies and in Nevada insurance law. If you have a question regarding any type of personal injury or paying your medical bills from an accident, please do not hesitate to call the offices of TheOneLawyer.com and speak directly to attorney Laura Marie Payne, Esq. a Henderson Injury Attorney for over 15 years. Laura is recognized as one of Nevada’s Top 100 Lawyers. She has the experience and knowledge to obtain the maximum settlement you deserve. Please call our office if you or a loved one is injured. We can make sure that you receive the care you need and deserve and advise on how to preserve evidence.

CLAIMS FOR INJURY AGAINST A LARGE COMPANY

All big retailers have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their premises for their customers and vendors. However, employees and supervisors are not always as diligent as they should be in maintaining safe stores. When the premises are not kept in a safe condition, customer injuries that could have been prevented can happen, and these include injuries from slip and falls, falling objects, negligent collisions with customers and store equipment, and other accident injuries. If you believe you have been injured in a store or other retail settings, you may want to hire a personal injury lawyer to handle your personal injury claim against a large retailer today. Do not go it alone. Large retailers are sophisticated in overseeing these claims and we are too. We have done battle with large retailers and won for our clients many times over the past two decades. Let the experience of TheOneLawyer.com recover the most money possible for your personal injury claims against a large retailer. At the scene, call us and follow the following steps to preserve your claim:

Report the Accident To Management at the Store

Report the accident to a manager or employee immediately. Locate a store employee and describe what happened in detail. It would be helpful to make a voice recording at the scene for your attorney describing what happened in as much detail as possible. Be specific regarding the facts when telling the manager or employee what happened. If the employee prepares an accident report, request a copy for your own records. Be sure to ask the manager if there is an in-store or parking lot surveillance camera that might have recorded your accident and demand that the footage be preserved. If possible, video yourself making this request to the store employee or manager. Try to get an email address for store claims at the scene. If you are able to obtain one, go home and send an email, and copy yourself, demanding they “preserve all evidence, including all video evidence” before the security system deletes the footage. Many retailers automatically tape over old footage every 24 hours, so do this immediately. It is best to call us at TheOneLawyer.com 702-450-4868 to retain our experience to handle your claim immediately for the personal injuries you sustained in an accident at a large retail location.

Collect Information By Taking Photos and the Names and Phone Numbers of Witnesses

While you are still at the store, restaurant or other commercial location, it is important for you to collect evidence that will be critical to preserve your personal injury claim. It is important to do this while you are still at the scene before an employee has the chance to clean up or remove the hazard that caused your injury. Do your best to collect the following evidence before leaving the scene of the accident:

Take Photographs of the hazard that your injury;
Take Photographs of the entire scene near and around where the injury occurred;
Request any and all surveillance footage from the manager, and if you give a written statement, be sure to put this request in that statement;
Obtain all eyewitness contact information yourself, do not rely on the store to obtain this information;
Request a copy of the accident report while you are at the scene.

It is also important for you to keep the clothes and shoes you were wearing at the time of your accident. These items may be critical evidence to defend the store’s causation as a later time and may contain direct evidence, such as residue from a recently waxed floor. If you are too injured to collect evidence yourself, ask your companion to do these things. At the very least, be sure to use your phone and snap dozens of photos of the scene, the hazard, the employees, and the witnesses.

SEEK MEDICAL CARE as Soon as Possible

Take photos of any cuts, bruises or swelling that you sustained and seek medical care immediately. If you have severe pain or a severe injury, advise the store to request an ambulance to pick you up from the scene. If you leave the store on your own, go to a doctor or hospital as soon as possible to obtain treatment for the personal injuries that you sustained in your accident at a commercial retailer like Walmart, Target, Costco, Home Depot, Amusement park or any other commercial location. It is important to know that you may have injuries with delayed symptoms, such as a muscle tear or a head injury. It is important to see a doctor without delay and report all symptoms and injuries, even if you believe they are not significant at the time such as anxiety, confusion, soreness, etc.

Make a Note In your Phone Regarding the Facts

In your phone, make a “note” that starts “to my Attorney” and list the details you recall at that time when it is fresh in your memory. If you start this note for your attorney at TheOneLawyer.com and call us immediately, this statement will likely be considered a privileged statement to your counsel. In your note, describe the incident in detail while the memory of it is still fresh in your mind. Include the exact date and time that your fall happened, the location of the business, the hazard that caused your injury, the names and phones numbers of anyone (including witnesses and employees) you spoke to about the accident, and the pain you are having since the accident.

Consult With an Attorney with Experience

Large Retailers will fight to provide the lowest financial recovery possible for an accident injury. Do fight them on your own. Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to handle your commercial personal injury claim against a large corporation. Hiring an employment law attorney gives you the power and knowledge needed to procure a settlement or go to trial, if necessary, against a large company. A lawyer can manage every phase of your personal injury claim against a large company and allow you to focus on recovery.

WHY I AM GRATEFULL 2022: I am grateful for the crisp air and sunshine on this first beautiful workday of 2022. It is important for all of us to be the change we want to see in the world by making gratitude a part of each day. If we all practice gratitude more regularly, the world will be a kinder place. Each of my blogs will contain something I am grateful for and reviewed in our year end blog. I hope that you will also have a lengthy list by the end of 2022. I hope that by reflecting on gratitude, we will find the positive of everyday, even the days that are stressful.