A fun outing to a local mall can become anything but enjoyable if you are hurt in a slip and fall accident. You can suffer broken bones, back and spinal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or other serious injuries and be off work for months or longer while you recover—if you are not permanently disabled. Fortunately, you may be able to file a claim to seek compensation from the mall owner or other negligent party with the help of an experienced premises liability attorney.
Responsibilities of a Mall to Its Customers
Shopping mall owners and their management team have a duty to their guests to maintain the mall in a reasonably safe condition and to warn customers of known hazards. They often enter into contracts with others, such as a cleaning service, snow removal company, and other third parties to keep the mall common areas in a safe and clean condition. Here are some of the duties that malls have to their guests:
- Keeping flooring dry, clean, and free of liquid and food spills
- Repairing or replacing hazardous flooring, stairs, escalators, and elevators
- Repairing cracks and potholes in sidewalks and parking lots
- Keeping parking lots and sidewalks free of snow and ice
- Placing out warning signs or roping off hazardous conditions in the mall and parking lot
- Providing adequate lightening inside the mall and outside in parking lots
- Have procedures to quickly identify dangerous conditions and rectify them or post warnings
Shops, restaurants, and other businesses within the mall have their own responsibilities to keep their stores safe for customers and to warn them of hazards that may have been violated when a visitor suffers injuries in a fall in these locations.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents at Malls
Because of the large number of people at malls, there are many slip and fall hazards when mall and store owners breach their duty to customers. Here are some main reasons that people are injured in slip and fall accidents:
- Cracked flooring or torn carpeting
- Spills of food and drink, especially around the food court area
- Wet and slick entrances due to snow, ice, and water being carried in by visitors
- Inadequate lighting
- Slippery floors due to cleaning
- Broken stairs or handrails
- Malfunctioning escalators
- Debris and merchandise in aisles
- Electrical cords that are not properly secured
- Cracks and potholes in asphalt
- Snow and ice on sidewalks and parking lots
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