A plaintiff has filed a claim after suffering a personal injury in a store that she claims is the fault of the location’s owners. The company named in the New York personal injury in a store lawsuit is Levi Strauss.

The lawsuit paperwork claims that the plaintiff was inside a Levi’s retail location on May 13, 2015, and suffered serious personal injuries when a metal shelf broke. The metal shelf allegedly hit the plaintiff’s right foot and caused severe injuries immediately.

At the time, the plaintiff was shopping near a fitting room station in a New York store when the metal shelf accident occurred. The personal injury in a store lawsuit says that the company is negligent because of the failure to ensure that all areas of the store were safe for people to lawfully shop there.

Lawsuits involving premises liability are often filed after someone has sustained a life-changing injury inside or outside of retail premises. Most people who enter a retail location expect that it’s been regularly inspected in order to reduce the possibility of serious injuries and damage for possible patrons.

All locations that allow for lawful public entrance have a legal responsibility to  ensure that the property is reasonably safe. If a dangerous condition emerges through an inspection or when a customer brings an employee’s attention to it, it’s the job of the store to take actions to notify other patrons so that accidents don’t happen.

If an accident does occur because the property owner didn’t know about the condition due to improper maintenance and cleaning or if the owner knew about the dangers and failed to take corrective action, the person hurt in such an accident may have grounds to file a lawsuit to recover damages.

As is the case with the above claim for a personal injury in a store, the injuries may be severe. Metal shelving and other materials used to house items within a store are very heavy and have sharp edges. The sudden departure of the shelf from its location down to the floor means that a victim might not have enough time to get out of the way.

Anyone injured on someone else’s property should be prepared to discuss next steps. Getting medical attention is a top priority for someone who has been hurt, and it may not be until days or weeks later that the victim knows how their life will be changed by such an incident.

Getting evidence from the scene after reporting the incident to the store owner can help to clarify next steps for a person who has suffered a personal injury in a store. Many victims who have sustained injuries in these kinds of situations will want to take action quickly to recover compensation and begin to put their lives back together, especially if it is discovered that the store’s negligence caused the accident to begin with in New York.

The Personal Injury in a Store Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-028160NGG-SMG filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.