Stay safe while shopping this upcoming holiday season
Although Halloween 2017 is now in the can, the holiday shopping season kicks off this month. Soon, shoppers will turn out in droves for the hottest holiday gifts at the lowest prices. The horde of shoppers on Black Friday and throughout the entire holiday season increase the frequency of shopping injuries.
If you plan to join the frenzied crowds in the hunt for the perfect gift for everyone on your list this holiday season, exercise caution to avoid getting injured.
Shopping injuries more common than most realize
Every year in America, thousands of consumers suffer injuries while shopping. Many are serious enough to require hospitalizations. Some of the more severe types of injuries that frequently befall hapless shoppers are those to the neck, back and head. Other common injuries include:
- Sprains
- Trauma to the neck, head and spine
- Fractures
Of course, simply because someone gets hurt while shopping at the local mall or big box retail outlet doesn’t mean that the store owner is at fault. However, there are many stores that leave themselves open to liability, allowing injury victims to file claims for their losses.
How do shoppers get injured?
One common way that shoppers wind up injured is by falling. Some store owners and managers fail to promptly clean up spills and warn about wet floors. That creates a scenario that is potentially hazardous not just to shoppers, but also to employees and vendors.
In addition to falls, shoppers can suffer very serious injuries to the upper body when display shelves full of merchandise collapse onto the shoppers below.
Children often get hurt while riding in shopping carts. If a cart has not been properly designed or maintained, it can easily tip over causing a child to tumble onto the hard floor.
Some Black Friday sales are a perfect example of stores failing to adequately protect their customers. Knowing that frenzied crowds are lined up to score bargains, they may not have enough police or security guards on duty to handle crowd control. When the doors open and everyone rushes inside, shoppers can be trampled.
In some cases, the actual injuries take place not inside the store but out in the parking lot. Neglecting to shovel snow from a parking lot or to replace burned out lights in the lot may cause a customer to get hurt or even attacked.
Can you file a claim for your shopping injuries?
If you or someone you love in injured while shopping, you may have a legitimate premises liability claim. This legal action may allow you to recover losses such as medical expenses, lost income from missing work and damages for pain and suffering.