Anthony Quackenbush works as a Fort Lauderdale Shopping Mall Accident Lawyer. A shopping mall is a complex typically made up of one or more buildings that house stores selling merchandise. The stores typically are connected by interconnecting walkways that allow customers to walk from store to store and browse the merchandise.
A “strip mall” is a type of shopping mall that is typically located street-side, rather than being located in a complex of buildings.
Many shopping malls including food courts and movie theatres. These food courts may include various restaurants. Shopping malls also may include department stores.
An outlet mall is a type of shopping mall in which manufacturers sell their products directly to the public/customers, rather than going through distributors.
Various types of accidents can occur in shopping malls. These include slip and fall and trip & fall accidents. You may fall after encountering a liquid (water, soda, juice, etc.) on the floor of a shopping mall or a solid object on the ground.
Should you be hurt in a shopping mall anywhere in the State of Florida (including Miami, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Fort Lauderdale), contact Mr. Quackenbush to speak about your case for free. He can be reached at 954-448-7288.
If your fall occurs in a common area of the mall (not in one of the stores), then you will need to prove that the mall had “notice” (either actual or constructive) of the liquid or object on the ground. That is, shopping malls have employees that are tasked with keeping the mall clean. If one of the employees either put the liquid/object on the floor or knew about it, then the shopping mall will be said to have “actual notice” of its existence and will be responsible for any injuries caused.
On the other hand, even if an employee did not put the liquid/object on the floor of the shopping mall and didn’t know about it, the shopping mall can still be said to have “constructive notice” of the liquid/object if the liquid/object had been there long enough that an employee should have known about it. For example, if there was water on the floor in a walkway at the mall for several hours, then it can be said that an employee should have known about it and cleaned it up.
You can prove that the liquid/object had been on the ground in the shopping mall through circumstantial evidence. For example, if there was dirt, tracks or footprints in the liquid that caused your fall, then you may be able to prove that the liquid had been on the ground long enough that an employee should have known about it.
If the liquid/object that caused your fall was in a store, then it could be either the shopping mall or the store itself that is responsible for your injuries. If the liquid or object that caused your fall was “transient” (not a permanent fixture), then it will typically be the store itself that will be liable for your injuries. After all, how could the shopping mall have known about it if it was only temporary? On the other hand, if the object that caused your fall was a permanent thing (e.g., steps in a store that were too high), then it will typically be the shopping mall itself that will be responsible for your harm. After all, it is typically the shopping mall (rather than the individual stores) that have the ability and are responsible for fixing permanent fixtures.
Objects can also fall and injure you in a shopping mall. Walls and ceilings can sometimes collapse and injure customers. Merchandise will sometimes also fall off of racks in stores and injure customers. If this occurs, then it will typically be the store that will be responsible for its customers’ injuries.
If an employee of a mall injures you (for example, by pushing you, knocking you over, or tripping you), then it will typically be the shopping mall that will be responsible for your injuries. If it was an employee of one of the individual stores, then it will typically be the store itself that will be liable for your injuries.
If it was an intentional act on the part of one of the employees that hurt you, then the shopping mall or store may argue that it isn’t responsible because the employee acted outside of the scope of his or her employment. In that case, you may be stuck pursuing the personal assets of the employee for compensation, although you also may still be able to pursue compensation from the shopping mall or store itself if the shopping mall/store knew that the employee was violent or aggressive at the time of hiring. This would be known as a negligent hiring, negligent retention or negligent supervision case.
If it was another customer that intentionally hurt you, then you may have a negligent security case against the shopping mall. This will be true if the shopping mall should have provided proper security to deter crime, but didn’t. Your case will be strongest if the incident occurred in a high-crime area. This is so because, in that case, Mr. Quackenbush will be able to easily argue that the shopping mall should have provided better security because it knew it existed in a high-crime area. In order to prove that the incident occurred in a high-crime area, Mr. Quackenbush will likely get the “crime grid” for the area where the crime occurred.
Shopping malls in Broward County include Sawgrass Mills Mall, the Shops at Pembroke Gardens, the Promenade at Coconut Creek, the Galleria Mall, the Coral Ridge Mall, the Festival Marketplace, Westfield Broward, Pembroke Lakes Mall, the Gallery at Beach Place, Pompano Marketplace, Pompano Citi Centre, Coral Square, Plantation Walk, Plantation Towne Mall, Hollywood Fashion Center, Lakes Mall, the Las Olas Shops, and Seminole Paradise.
Should you be injured in a shopping mall accident that occurred anywhere in Broward County (including Coconut Creek, Cooper City, Coral Springs, Dania Beach, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Lighthouse Point, Margate, Miramar, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Southwest Ranches, Sunrise, Tamarac, West Park, Weston and Wilton Manors), contact this Fort Lauderdale Shopping Mall Accident Law Firm at 954-448-7288 to talk about your case at no charge to you.