When a consumer enters into a commercial property in New York, he or she has a reasonable expectation to not get injured. Property owners are responsible for preserving a safe environment for their customers. When they fail to do this, it opens up the risk of consumer injuries and then the potential for a premises liability lawsuit. This is exactly what happened in an out-of-state incident from 2013 that has now resulted in the filing of a legal claim.
A father was with his daughter at a popular video game store franchise, Gamestop, when the daughter suffered a head injury. Apparently, there was a shelving unit that was not properly secured to the floor, which somehow fell onto the daughter's head. The extent of her injuries were not disclosed.
The father and daughter are suing the Gamestop franchise for failing to properly construct and secure a safe shelf that would not cause damage to consumers. The corporate owners of the video store franchise are also being cited for failing to inspect the shelving unit to ensure that it was safe for consumers to be around. The plaintiffs have also cited Gamestop for failing to effectively warn customers of the unsafe condition.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs are requesting monetary damages for premises liability, violation of the Family Expense Act, carelessness and general negligence. When injuries occur as a result of the negligence of a store owner, it may be possible to seek and recover financial compensation. New York consumers have legal rights and it is important that those rights are assessed, understood and protected in the instance of premises liability.
Source: cookcountyrecord.com, "Father sues over daughter being injured under video game store shelving unit", Dan Harkins, July 22, 2015