Do you frequent a local Dollar Tree or other dollar store to grab items for your home, office, or classroom? If so, you likely don’t expect to suffer an injury while in the store. It’s probably the last thing on your mind. But, accidents do happen and you very well could suffer an injury, especially when items fall from the shelves. Now, an item that falls from a medium height shelf might not cause an injury. But, an item that falls from the top of a shelf could wind up landing on your head and causing trauma.

Property owners, including those who own Dollar General, are required by law to protect their customers at all times. This includes protection from assault, slip and fall accidents, and from suffering an injury from a falling object. Accidents such as these can easily be prevented if employees stock the shelves properly, which means not overloading items on any shelf. When items fall from shelves in dollar stores owners can be held liable for any injuries caused to customers.

Proving Negligence in Court

If you have been injured in a Dollar General because of an item that fell from the shelf while you were shopping, you can file a claim seeking compensation against the owner. In order to win the claim and receive compensation for your injuries you will need to prove negligence in court. The items needed to prove negligence on the part of the store owner includes the following:

• A duty of care was owed to you, the plaintiff, by the store owner, the defendant. The highest duty of care is owed to property visitors, customers, by property/store owners.
• The duty of care suffered a breach when the items fell from the shelf and hit the customer.
• The ultimate cause of the accident was the breach of the duty of care.
• The injury to the customer, or plaintiff, was the result of the accident.

Proving negligence is not always cut-and-dry. You will need plenty of evidence to back up your claim, including documentation that you reported the accident to ownership or management, pictures showing where the accident occurred, and any medical records of treatment you received.

Compensation for Your Injuries

Were you injured by an item that fell from the shelf of a Family Dollar store? If so, you are within your rights to seek compensation for those injuries. The compensation a plaintiff can seek from the store owner or another entity includes the following:

• Wages lost for missed time at work and future lost wages
• Reimbursement for all medical expenses stemming from the injury (surgery, tests, ambulance transport, etc.)
• Pain and suffering, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Causes of Falling Items

The most common causes of items that fall from the shelves of Dollar Tree stores include the following:

• Not enough training: employees responsible for stocking the shelves need to be properly trained or else they could overstocking shelves to the point where items fall or the shelves collapse.
• Failure to secure items: a majority of stores do not use devices to secure items that are stacked high on shelves.
• Stacking items too high: the majority of stores will stack items 15 feet or more off the floor.

Suffering an injury in a Dollar General or Family Dollar because an item fell from a shelf can change your life in an instant. You might suffer a concussion or other type of head trauma. You could be out of work for months. You might have trouble paying your bills. That’s why it’s important to speak to a personal injury attorney if ever involved in such a situation.