Macon Store Accident Attorney

When you go out shopping, the last thing you expect to happen is to be injured.  But, it does happen, especially when you least expect it.  You assume that the owners of the stores have taken the necessary precautions to make sure that your shopping experience goes off without a hitch.

But slippery floors, lax security, dangerous parking lots, and other hazards injure many customers. Sometimes it’s no one’s fault. But if store owners don’t “reasonably” protect you from harm on their property, that’s a different matter. Retail stores can be liable for negligence if they:

• Fail to maintain reasonably safe property, or don’t quickly repair damage or dangerous conditions in their stores
• Fail to warn visitors of those dangers or unsafe conditions.

If you’ve been injured by an accident on retail property in Macon or Central Georgia, and the owners did not take the above preventative steps, you can file a premises liability claim to recover monetary damages. You may be able to receive compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. This compensation is typically paid to the victim when their attorney files an insurance claim lawsuit against the retail store owner’s insurance carrier. Since insurance companies aggressively resist injury claims, your case gains significant strength if you retain Macon store accident attorney David Mann.

Causes of Injuries that Occur at Stores

There are many causes of injuries at stores in Macon.  Each one of these causes can produce injuries for which you may be compensated.  The causes of injuries include:

• Wet or slippery floors
• Merchandise falling from shelves
• Cluttered aisles or pathways
• Being hit by heavy equipment like forklifts or pallet jacks
• Workplace violence
• Motor vehicle accidents in parking lots.

Negligence leads to a variety of premises-related accidents. Customers as well as employees can suffer serious injuries in a slip or trip and fall. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says floors, flooring materials, and liquids spilled on floors directly cause more than 2 million fall injuries each year.

Serious slip and fall injuries can include:

• Concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Broken bones, muscle and ligament damage
• Neck and back injuries
• Painful hip fractures
• And other serious harm.

What You Should Do If You Are Injured In A Store

There are certain actions you should take if you are injured at a store.  Following these steps will assist your attorney in filing a claim quickly to get the process started.  Also, following these steps could increase your chances of getting compensation for your injuries.  After an accident at a store, the following steps should be taken:

• Get Medical Attention – You should call for an ambulance even if you think your injuries are not severe.  Some injuries take days or weeks to appear.  Getting medical attention will ensure you have documentation of your injuries.
• Obtain an Incident Report – You should speak to a store manager and tell them what happened to cause your injuries.  The manager will then fill out an incident report for you.  Show this to your attorney.
• Take photos and videos – It is important to capture the scene of the accident.  Since we all carry cell phones in this day and age, taking pictures or videos should not be a problem.  Take as many as you can and show them to your lawyer.

Negligent Security Can Cause Store Accidents

Retailers may be also held liable for injuries caused by the reckless or intentionally criminal conduct of other people while on their property. Negligent security liability claims for injuries to victims of an assault and battery, sexual assault, child molestation, or worse, can be filed when they happen in retail stores or their parking lots and garages. Georgia law holds retail property occupants (owners and renters) to a high duty (legal obligation) to keep their premises reasonably safe for “invitees” (their shoppers) from “foreseeable criminal acts.”

Many property owners don’t work proactively to keep parking lots safe, even in high-crime areas where adequate lighting in parking lots or regular security patrols would make their parking areas safer.

The following issues may lead to liability on the part of a property owner:

• Poor security lighting or failure to sustain sufficient lighting
• Failure to provide adequate security patrol(s) anywhere on their property
• Failure to install adequate security cameras or monitors
• Failure to respond to a security alert
• Failure to reasonably warn of imminent or potential dangers.

Store Parking Lot Accidents

In addition to being responsible for parking lot safety, store owners must provide measures to thwart injuries when cars crash into stores. Vehicle-into-building crashes kill about 500 people a year, according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Although most are attributed to driver error, other factors may play a role, such as poor parking lot design or the owner’s failure to install barriers such as short posts – known as bollards – in front of their business.  When the store bears some responsibility, injured victims may be able to file claims against the store owner as well as the negligent driver, with the assistance of a property liability accident lawyer if needed.

Contact Our Macon Store Accident Lawyers Today

Georgia’s Civil Statute of Limitations for filing a personal injury claim is two years from the date of a medical diagnosis: [O.C.G.A. §9-3-33].  Ours is also a “modified comparative negligence” state. This means that injured victims can win damages even if they were partially at fault, so long as that fault is determined to be less than 50 percent. No matter where it occurs, a serious accident affects your entire family. The seasoned attorneys of the Mann Law Firm in Macon will assist in your quest for fair compensation to pay for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other losses sustained in a Middle Georgia store accident. Contact us today at (478) 742-3381 or use our online form to arrange a free consultation.