Tripping and falling, touching something you didn’t know was hot, or closing your hand in a door. Accidents happen all the time and sometimes these accidents can result into major injuries. One of the first things that comes to mind after you are injured is who or what is at fault and how could it have been avoided. But it’s one thing to have an accident that was your fault, versus an accident that was the fault of someone else. Especially when that someone else is a business.
Every business has the responsibility of making sure their customers are in a safe environment while they shop on their premises according to a personal injury lawyer with our friends at Brandy Austin Law Firm. Sometimes the business fails to do so which results in the personal injury of a customer. But, not every personal injury of a customer is the fault of the business. There are three basic elements regarding personal injury lawsuits against businesses. A duty of care the business owes the customer, a breach of that duty, and harm resulting from the breach of duty. For example, let’s say there is a wet spot on the floor of a business and a customer walks over the spot resulting in them falling and hitting their head. The duty of care owed by the business is making sure the floor is clean and dry, a breach of that duty is the fact that the floor is wet and there was no sign put up to warn customers, and the harm caused by that breach is the customer falling and hitting their head. In this scenario the business would be liable for the injuries caused to the customer. Now take this same scenario but instead let’s say there was a wet floor sign put over the wet spot. If the customer were to ignore the sign and walk over the spot, the business cannot be held responsible for the customer’s injuries. It’s true that there was still a wet spot that resulted in the customer’s fall, but the business put up the proper precautions to warn the customer of the wet spot. There isn’t a breach of care if the business notified the customer of the danger.
Injuries while at a business is one thing, but what about an instance when a product caused harm to a customer. There have been many cases of products harming customers after they purchase them. These are usually the result of improper use of the product but there are times when the product itself was the problem. Recently there has been a debate going around social media regarding a woman who had to seek medical attention because she put Gorilla Glue spray adhesive in her hair. Her hair is permanently stuck in place due to the adhesive. Now she is considering suing Gorilla Glue for what happened to her. The adhesive she used is not intended to be put in hair and the warning label states that it’s harmful to put the adhesive in your eyes, skin, and clothing. People believe that hair is in the same category as skin while others feel that Gorilla Glue didn’t clearly state that their product shouldn’t be put in hair. Although the adhesive isn’t meant for hair people still believe Gorilla Glue is at fault for not mentioning it. Situations like this can be tricky because it is obvious that the adhesive is in no way intended to be used in your hair, but since it doesn’t specifically say so it can be said that they didn’t properly warn the customer. The situation is still ongoing so we’ll have to wait to see the outcome.
In conclusion, an accident can occur at any time and when it results in personal injury you should always consider all the factors. Always speak with an attorney to make sure you can hold the business accountable for your injury.