I was recently injured while out shopping and am enquiring as to whether I am eligible to claim for an accident in a department store. While out browsing in a well-known department store last week I found myself in need of a bite to eat. En route to the restaurant housed by within the department store I was struck in the stomach by an iron bar that had come loose from a display next to me, swinging into the aisle. After recovering from what I thought was a simple case of being winded I found that the impact had bruised my stomach. It has been very painful ever since. Am I entitled to claim for compensation?
Your eligibility to claim for accident in department store depends on whether someone other than you was responsible for your injuries. Every business you visit has a duty of care to protect its patrons, and if you can prove that a business’ management failed in their duty of care to protect you it could lead to you being awarded a settlement. Finding out who is responsible for your injury may be trickier in a department store than in a supermarket or a restaurant though, as depending on the ownership structure, more than one party may be responsible. Department stores, which are normally owned by one or more parent companies, and let out to individual businesses which trade inside them, may operate under a different system of accountability than businesses operating under more traditional arrangement.
One thing is for sure though – if you have been injured on the grounds of a department store due to someone else’s negligence, someone must take responsibility. Pursuing a claim for an accident in a department store may mean pursuing more than one negligent party, which could delay your claim. If it is the case that one or more negligent parties is responsible for your injuries, the parties must thrash out the details as to which is going to bear what level of responsibility before a settlement can be finalised – the amount of compensation you are entitled to will not change.
For more information on pursuing a claim for an accident in a department store, speak with a legal expert, which as mentioned above, is possible through our freephone injury claims advice service.