Big box retailers dominate the retail industry, even in Warren County. Walmart, Target, Home Depot and other retailers have stores within driving distance of Glens Falls, and many people do weekly shopping at one or more of these businesses. With so much foot traffic, these mammoth retailers have more than their fair share of accidents.
Unfortunately, these big box retailers aggressively defend themselves from personal injury claims. Victims who do not have a lawyer might quickly find themselves without any compensation. Call Larson & Gallivan Law today. OurNew York personal injury attorneys can help shepherd your personal injury claim through the process and make sure your voice is heard by the gigantic retailer on the other side. We offer no-obligation, free case evaluations, socontact us today.
Accidents in Big Box Stores
Customers can be injured in all sorts of incidents at these stores, including:
- Slip and falls. Trash or debris on the floor could cause a person to fall and slam their head onto the ground. Common injuries include concussions, back injuries, whiplash, and nerve damage.
- Trip and falls. Some stores leave boxes or other items in the aisles, tripping up unsuspecting customers. A person can suffer all the same serious injuries as they would in a slip and fall.
- Falling merchandise. Heavy items should either be placed on the floor or properly shelved so they don’t rain down on the heads of customers. Any heavy item could lead to a concussion, neck injury, or fracture.
- Shopping cart injury. A defective cart could cut a small child placed in it or overturn or slam into someone.
- Violent attacks. Customers can face attacks in the store, bathroom, or parking lot. Sometimes, negligent security is a contributing factor. For example, there might be inadequate lighting in the parking lot, or the store fails to intervene and investigate a suspicious person.
These are only some of the most common injuries in stores. You should call Larson & Gallivan Law today to discuss how you were injured.
How Stores Defend Themselves
Anyone injured should request medical help. As you wait for an ambulance, however, the store will begin immediately gathering evidence. Many stores have internal teams dedicated to solely handling legal claims, and big box stores created these teams to help them avoid liability.
Depending on your accident, the store might claim:
- You are partially to blame for your accident. For example, you might have clumsily tried to pull down an item from a shelf, or you were looking at your phone while going down an aisle. The store will claim you wouldn’t have been hurt if you had acted with more care.
- The store wasn’t negligent. They might claim another customer created a hazard and they didn’t have notice of it or didn’t have enough time to fix it. Essentially, they are arguing they weren’t negligent, so they aren’t liable.
- You aren’t injured. They might have video of you walking out of the store without assistance. Of course, some injuries are slow to develop. The shock you felt could mask any pain which increases over the coming days. But they might use the video to claim you are exaggerating your injuries.
Stores might also aggressively try to get you to settle for too little. Without a lawyer, you might be tempted to snatch at the first offer because you aren’t sure you can obtain more.
For example, did you know you can request financial compensation for pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life? You can’t expect the defendant in a personal injury case to offer fair compensation for these intangible losses, although they make up a large part of many settlements. Instead, we will carefully review all facts to decide what’s a realistic amount of compensation.
How We Win These Cases
The key to any big box store case is finding credible evidence that backs up your version of what happened. Getting injured in a big box store is actually helpful because:
- There are usually many witnesses milling around who saw the accident or the immediate aftermath;
- The store should have security cameras, which they install to catch shoplifters but which also probably recorded the accident;
- Police officers are often near big box stores, so they can collect relevant information if you are hurt.
Many people are in immediate pain after falling and hitting their head or getting attacked in a parking lot. Call our firm. Your personal injury attorney can search for this evidence. We might even immediately inform the store to preserve their surveillance video of the day in question. You should move quickly before it’s erased.
There’s more good news: these stores usually have the largest insurance policies, so they can afford to cover serious injuries. A Mom-and-Pop store might be barely hanging on financially, but the biggest stores should have the resources to pay fair compensation for even the most serious injuries.
You Deserve Real Compensation
An accident can sideline people with painful injuries. Your best bet is to hire an experienced New York personal injury firm to represent you in negotiations.
We can assist clients seeking money for:
- Medical bills and continuing medical needs, such as at-home assistance for permanent disabilities;
- Lost wages or income;
- Loss of earning capacity;
- Future economic losses;
- Pain and suffering.
For example, someone who suffers a moderate traumatic brain injury will miss months of work and could also need at-home help with the tasks of daily life. The defendant should pay, since they are at fault.
We can also seek financial compensation for pain and suffering and related losses. In our experience, defendants fight hardest to limit the amount they pay for something like bodily pain. We have handled many cases, so we know how much a big company can pay to our clients.
Schedule Your Consultation
Larson & Gallivan Law has helped injured victims in Glens Falls win settlements when they are hurt on a business premises. Call us to schedule your own one-on-one consultation with a personal injury lawyer.
