Virginia Beach Falling Merchandise Accident Lawyer

Falling merchandise causes more injuries in Virginia Beach than most people realize. Injuries caused by falling merchandise are especially common in big box stores like IKEA and Costco where stores combine their warehouse and retail space and stack merchandise high.

If were injured because of falling merchandise, your first priority should be to seek medical care. This emergency care may include having the store call an ambulance.

You and your family should also consider your legal options. Make sure the store management takes a report of the event. Take pictures and get the names and contact information for any witnesses. A Virginia Beach falling merchandise accident lawyer should be called as soon as possible. We could handle questions from insurance companies and work to obtain fair compensation for your injuries. Working with a dedicated premises liability lawyer can enable you to focus on healing while your legal advocate fights to protect your rights.

Types of Compensation That May Be Available  in Virginia Beach

If you can demonstrate a store or business owner is responsible for harm caused by falling merchandise, you may be entitled to receive compensation to offset a variety of effects from the accident. To have a valid claim you must show that the store did something wrong to negligently cause your injury. Compensation is often referred to as damages.

You could receive damages for both economic and noneconomic losses resulting from the injury. Economic damages are losses that have a price tag attached to them, such as the value of wages lost due to time missed from work. Noneconomic harms also may have a tremendous impact on your life, but they do not have a direct monetary value. A falling merchandise lawyer could develop evidence to support an appropriate value for noneconomic losses such as pain based on how it affects your life. You may be eligible to receive compensation for:

• Medical expenses
• Likely future medical needs
• Lost wages
• Reduced future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of hobbies and activities

An attorney could help obtain compensation for each applicable factor regardless of whether a case settles in advance or proceeds to trial.

Injuries Caused by Falling Merchandise

When merchandise is stacked over the head of a shopper, it can pose a risk of causing serious injuries. Heavy items especially pose a major risk. For example, catastrophic head and neck injuries are common. Traumatic brain injuries and concussions also commonly result because of the impact of falling objects.

Other serious injuries that frequently occur when shoppers are hit by falling merchandise include bone fractures, lacerations, and contusions. Other damage such as crush injuries can have serious or even deadly effects. It is important for someone struck by falling merchandise to receive a thorough medical examination and follow doctors’ instructions.

Liability of the Store for Injuries to Customers

Under a theory of law known as premises liability, the business owner may be held liable for injuries suffered by others on their premises when they knew or should have known of a danger and failed to take adequate steps to remedy the situation. In many cases, store owners are aware of the dangers posed by stacked merchandise. However, they often fail to warn consumers of the risks.

Moreover, store owners may not provide adequate training to employees about how to stack and move merchandise safely. When a store owner fails to exercise reasonable care, they should be held liable for harm that results.

Consult a Virginia Beach Falling Merchandise Accident Attorney

When a store fails to take the right steps to keep customers safe, the shop should accept responsibility and take on some of the burden caused by their lack of care. Often though the claims agents and insurers try to dodge what they should do. A Virginia Beach falling merchandise accident lawyer from Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers could help you recover if you suffered injuries caused by merchandise that was not properly stacked or restrained. For a free consultation to learn more about how we could help, call today.