If I got injured in a store’s dressing room, canI sue?
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If I got injured in a store’s dressing room, canI sue?
I was going into a fitting room at target and as I was shutting the door it completely came off the hinges. It fell on the back of my heel and took a chunk out of my ankle; something stabbed me in the finger and left a small hole in the center of my index finger.
Asked on January 15, 2012 under Personal Injury, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You *may* be able to sue the store. You would have to be able to show that the store was (or at least most likely was) aware that the door was broken or breaking and did not fix it; that failure to perform maintenance/repairs would be unreasonable and therefore negligent (unreasonably careless) and would form a basis for liability. But if the door had been fine and you'd shut it too hard; or had been working loose, but there was no way to tell (i.e. the damage was hidden or had not manifested); or had been broken by someone just before you went in, so the store had no time to become aware of it--in those circumstances, since the store would not have been at fault, you could most likely not hold the store liable.
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