Is a store liable for a customer injury?

Every shopping trip should feel safe, but hidden hazards often turn an ordinary visit into a painful experience. Is a store liable for a customer injury? It’s a question many New Mexico shoppers face after accidents involving slick floors, unsecured merchandise, or poor lighting. Retailers have a responsibility to ensure their spaces are free from preventable dangers. At Parnall Law, we believe injured individuals deserve more than apologies—they deserve justice. Our team is passionate about protecting the rights of injury victims and securing the compensation they need to recover and move forward. With decades of experience, we proudly advocate for New Mexicans who have been harmed due to store negligence.

How can a store be liable for an accident?

A store can be liable for an accident if it fails to maintain safe premises, leading to hazardous conditions that cause injuries. In New Mexico, property owners have a “duty of care” toward lawful visitors, particularly customers invited onto their premises for business purposes. If this duty is breached and results in harm, liability often follows. Examples of negligence include neglecting to clean up spills promptly, failing to repair broken flooring, ignoring hazardous weather conditions like icy entrances, or not securing heavy merchandise properly.

Under HALT, premises liability law requires stores to inspect their environment regularly and either repair dangerous conditions or adequately warn customers. Liability can also stem from employee misconduct, such as leaving obstacles in walkways. Crucially, stores can even be responsible if they “should have known” about a danger through reasonable diligence. Therefore, documentation showing the store’s knowledge of a hazard often becomes a critical piece of evidence in a personal injury claim.

Common injuries a customer can have in a store

Personal injuries sustained inside retail spaces can vary widely in severity. Some of the most frequent injuries customers experience in stores include:

• Slip and fall injuries: Fractures, hip dislocations, sprained wrists, or traumatic head injuries are among the most common outcomes from falls, often requiring emergency medical attention, rehabilitation, and ongoing physical therapy for full recovery.
• Head and brain injuries: Severe cases may involve concussions, internal bleeding, traumatic brain injuries, or long-term cognitive impairments that can affect memory, speech, and emotional regulation, impacting a victim’s entire personal and professional life.
• Cuts and lacerations: Shattered glass from broken fixtures or sharp shelving edges can result in deep, potentially infected wounds that necessitate stitches, surgical intervention, and sometimes ongoing treatment to manage scarring or nerve damage.
• Back and spine injuries: Herniated discs, vertebral fractures, compressed nerves, or chronic lower back pain are typical injuries from awkward falls, often leading to chronic conditions and permanent physical limitations requiring extensive medical care.
• Soft tissue injuries: Muscle strains, torn ligaments, severe bruising, and inflammation are typical soft tissue injuries; they may seem minor at first but frequently require months of treatment, physical therapy, and lifestyle modifications to ensure complete recovery.

Steps to take if you are hurt in a store

If you suffer an injury in a store, taking swift and strategic action can significantly impact your ability to pursue a successful claim. Here are the steps you should take if injured in a retail store:

• Seek immediate medical care to ensure any injuries are properly documented.
• Report the incident to store management without hesitation, clearly describing the accident and requesting a formal incident report be generated, which serves as an essential piece of documentation for building a strong personal injury case.
• Document the scene thoroughly by taking multiple photographs and videos from different angles, ensuring that the hazardous condition, the broader area, and any relevant warning signs or lack thereof are captured accurately for evidence.
• Collect witness information by gathering names, phone numbers, and brief statements, if possible.
• Preserve evidence, such as the shoes you were wearing (especially in slip and fall cases), clothing, receipts, or any damaged items.

As highlighted by CGA, documenting everything can substantially strengthen your case if you decide to pursue legal action. Additionally, it’s advisable to refrain from making any recorded statements to insurance representatives without legal advice, as these can be used against you later. Consulting an experienced personal injury attorney promptly ensures that all necessary steps are taken to protect your rights and maximize your chances of fair compensation.

Damages you can pursue in a personal injury claim

When a store’s negligence results in your injury, you may be eligible to recover several types of damages through a personal injury claim. Compensation categories typically include:

• Medical expenses: Covering emergency room visits, surgical procedures, physical therapy sessions, necessary medications, and future anticipated healthcare needs related to the personal injuries sustained during the store accident.
• Lost wages: Income lost during recovery periods when the injured person is unable to work, as well as future lost earnings if the injury impacts their professional abilities or long-term employment prospects.
• Pain and suffering: Non-economic damages that acknowledge the physical discomfort, emotional distress, anxiety, mental anguish, and overall decrease in the quality of life experienced by the injured customer.
• Loss of earning capacity: Financial damages awarded for the injured party’s reduced ability to earn income in the future, which often results from long-term disabilities or permanent impairments caused by the accident.
• Punitive damages: Additional monetary awards specifically intended to penalize the store for especially reckless, grossly negligent, or intentionally harmful behavior that demonstrated a blatant disregard for customer safety.

New Mexico adheres to the principle of comparative negligence. This means that even if you were partially at fault for your injury, you can still recover damages, though your award may be reduced proportionally. Understanding how to document medical treatments, calculate wage losses accurately, and prove emotional suffering can be complex.

Get Help from a New Mexico Personal Injury Attorney Today

At Parnall Law, we are prepared to fight for your side if you have been injured by the negligence of a store. We will fight for your rights and compensation. We are honored to represent the injured throughout the state of New Mexico. Contact our experienced personal injury attorneys today at (505) 268-6500.