Got Stuck with a Needle in a Parking Lot? Retailers Still Don’t Want to Pay

Premises liability cases are based on a principle that dates back to common law; that if a person suffers an injury on someone else’s property, they may be able to file a lawsuit against the property owner to recover damages. In order to meet the basic requirements of a premises liability claim, there is the question of whether or not the property owner acted reasonably to prevent the dangerous condition that caused the accident. Another issue has to do with whether the injured party’s conduct was especially careless.

For example, if the patron of a store sees a yellow cone with a posted sign that says, “Danger, Wet Floor” and proceeds to walk on the wet floor and then falls, their conduct weakens their case. If the accident was caused by the negligent action or failure to act on the part of the property owner, the injured party may have a case.

You’d think that, if a store has, say, hypodermic needles lying around in its parking lot, it would behoove them to remove them. As it turns out, they don’t want to compensate their shoppers for that, either.

An accident that could have had terrible repercussions

In September 2016, a woman in South Carolina filed a lawsuit against the giant retailer Target for injuries she suffered when she was poked with a syringe that her daughter had picked up in the Target parking lot. She was awarded $4.6 million by an Anderson County jury, according to a story on WYFF4.com. The Target store initially offered the plaintiff only $500, and then they made another offer of $2,500 just before the trial began. The fact that the syringe could have contained anything – drugs, infected blood – meant nothing compared to saving money, it seems.

Of course, not every plaintiff who sues a “big box” store will win such a substantial verdict, and if the retail store prevails on appeal, the verdict amount will change. But what is likely is that the company will try to offer you a really low settlement amount – which means you’ll need a Gladiator in your corner to fight for you.

When you have suffered an injury at a retail store, a mall or a big box store it makes sense to contact a Nashville premises liability attorney at the Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, who is here to fight for your right to fair compensation when you have been hurt due to no fault of your own. Our experienced teams of personal injury lawyers in Nashville, Hendersonville and Knoxville are here to fight for justice for you and your children. To find out more, please call 615-425-2500, or use our contact form.