NJ Question for Attorney Carbone: An Employee Caused My Injury. Can I Sue the Store?
Posted April 10th, 2017 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Premises Liability.
Question: While I was grocery shopping the other day, an employee with his arms full of products had tried to pass by me. In his rush to get around me, he accidentally pushed me.
The push was hard enough that I fell down pretty hard. The fall had aggravated my back problems and now I’m in constant pain. I may have to have surgery. Can I sue the store?
Answer: In this case, not only is the employee responsible for your injury but the store could be held responsible for your injury. As we’ve stated time and time before, when the store fails to protect the safety of its customers, then it can be held liable under New Jersey’s premises liability law.
The law also states that the business can be held responsible for the acts of their employees in the course of business. For example, if the employee had finished work for the day when the accident occurred and pushed past you on his way out of the store, then you may not have a case against the store.
This is because, at that time, the employee had ended his workday and therefore was no longer a representative of the business. However, it sounds like the employee was working at the time, so you may be able to sue the store. But, you need to prove fault.
Proving fault is easier with evidence, and evidence may include:
- Audio, photo, and video surveillance
- Interviewing witnesses
- Medical records
In this case, you say the employee had pushed past you, causing the fall. But the employee might come and say that he didn’t push you, you just fell on your own. Now you’ll need to show that the employee had done this act. Witness testimony would be excellent. So would footage from the security cameras.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney
The best thing to do in this situation is to contact an experienced premises liability lawyer to see what your options. If you are involved in an accident on a commercial property in New Jersey, don’t delay. Contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today for a free consultation.
