Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, and retailers are always looking for ways to make it bigger, offering new and better deals to entice more shoppers to come to their stores, often encouraging them to literally fight over a limited supply of merchandise offered at rock-bottom prices. Unfortunately, this shopping frenzy can put people at risk, and when shoppers are hurt in slip-and-fall accidents or other dangerous situations, retailers can and should be asked to pay for the consequences of their negligence.
Causes of Black Friday Injuries
The situations created by Black Friday deals create numerous additional risks for shoppers, including:
- Assault while camping outside, waiting for the store to open
- Being crushed by people pressing forward against the doors before opening
- Being trampled by people rushing into the store
- Tripping hazards caused by poorly placed displays
- Displays that can be knocked over on top of shoppers
- Spilled and broken merchandise leading to trip, slip, and fall hazards
- Assault by other shoppers
Although retailers often have additional staff on the floor during Black Friday, they usually don’t have enough people to monitor and control the crowds they attract because of their Black Friday promotions.
Liability of Retailers for Black Friday Injuries
Under New Jersey law, retailers have the highest duty to care for visitors to their property. They are responsible for injuries suffered on their property during Black Friday shopping. Retailers know they are creating potentially hazardous situations when they offer deals designed to draw crowds to their stores, and they love it. They are looking to make additional profit by putting people at risk.
Because retailers are responsible for your injuries, they can be made to pay for:
- Medical bills, both current and expected
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning capacity if your catastrophic injuries result in long-term disability
- Pain, suffering, and trauma
And they should be made to pay. Retailers will continue to attempt to profit by putting other people at risk as long as it works. Making them pay for the injuries they cause targets what really matters to them: their profits. Your lawsuit can protect someone else from suffering a similar injury in the future.
To learn more about your legal rights and options after a Black Friday shopping injury, please contact Andres, Berger & Tran in Haddonfield, NJ today for a free initial consultation.
