Falling merchandise injury claims are increasingly common. Large retailers and warehouse super stores such as Publix, Target, Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, Lowe’s, BJ Wholesale, Staples, Office Depot, and others stock thousands of items on their store shelves.
Falling Merchandise Causes Serious Injuries
If you look up, then you see more products stacked above your reach. These additional products and items are stacked and stored on the top shelf as storage, and when products on the lower shelves begin to empty, the store conducts “pull-downs” of these extra items to fill the lower shelves.
Customers generally do not know about dangers they face when shopping at big box stores. Warehouse stores, home builder stores, supermarkets, and the super stores which combine grocery with retail products are examples. Falling merchandise is the risk, and injures thousands of shoppers every year.
For both consumers and employees in these stores, stacked merchandise is often a serious injury waiting to happen. Sadly, heavy merchandise falls on customers, especially their heads. The consequence can be serious head injury, brain damage, or broken neck.
Falling Merchandise Injury Claims Are Preventable Through Safety Measures
Some stores have created safety rules to prevent falling merchandise. Examples include:
- requiring forklifts moving boxes or pallets perform after hours
- closing off aisles with barricade when merchandise is stacking
- placing spotters in adjoining aisles to make sure upper shelf stacking does not fall into the adjacent aisle
- wrapping upper shelf merchandise in plastic
- installing retaining bars on upper shelf merchandise
While these are some safety measures stores may create, they are only effective if employees follow them. The reality is many store employees try to complete stacking goods and products quickly, and skip safety precautions they believe are time-consuming. Additionally, these safety measures do fail, as gravity simply overcomes their attempts.
Pursuing Justice in Falling Merchandise Injury Claims
Stores with merchandise stacked high above customers’ heads are balancing injury risk from falling merchandise and safety costs. Nevertheless, every store has a legal duty to provide a safe environment for customers and employees.
In Southwest Florida, a falling merchandise accident can result in serious injury of death. A store may be liable for damages, and Fort Myers injury lawyer David Harris is here to help.
If falling merchandise seriously harms you or family in Southwest Florida—Lee County, Collier County, Charlotte County, Hendry County, Glades County and nearby communities—then contact David.
Your free evaluation reviews your circumstances, your legal rights, and our steps forward. Moreover we discuss money damages compensation for your injuries and losses. If David accepts your case, then there is no fee unless there is a financial recovery.
