Floor and Decor is a DIY home renovations store specializing in flooring, such as hardwood, tiles, and laminate. The company was founded in 2000 and currently has over 100 locations throughout the U.S. The setup of a Floor and Decor is similar to the warehouse atmosphere you see in stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Much of the store is devoted to shelves and displays of flooring panels, along with installation materials like hardware, grout, and chemical sealants.
All these items can pose dangers for guests and visitors, but most accidents can be prevented by regular cleaning and maintenance. When a Floor and Décor location neglects their duty to keep the store safe, customers can be injured from a variety of accidents. If you have been injured on the premises of a Floor and Decor store, you may be entitled to monetary damages for the harm you’ve suffered. However, you will need to prove that the store was responsible for your accident according to California’s retail liability laws. We will talk about what this means, but we cannot comment on how it applies to your case without speaking to you in person. For specific information about your case, including your right to sue for monetary damages, contact our office and speak to a Floor & Decor store accident injury attorney.
Causes of Accidents at Floor & Decor Locations
If you’ve been inside a Floor and Decor, you would have noticed the vast array of items lining their shelves. Most of these items are sample panels of wood, laminate, and tile flooring. Other samples are arranged in standing displays that are interspersed throughout the store. Certain items are secured to the back or sides of the shelves so they don’t accidentally fall off. However, employees and managers must perform regular maintenance to ensure that products are properly secured. Otherwise, the store may be liable if a flooring sample falls off the shelf and hits a customer on their head or another part of the body.
Customers can also be injured by falling panels from one of the many floor displays. Standing displays at Floor and Decor are often loaded with heavy merchandise that can easily fall to the ground. This can lead to serious injury, especially if a customer bends down to look at something at the bottom of the display. In that case, they can be hit by many falling items at once. Another possibility is the entire display falling over, which can happen when displays are overloaded with heavy merchandise like tile samples.
Essentially, there are many hazards that Floor and Decor employees are responsible for. These include, but are not limited to:
- Product spills
- Exposed wiring
- Uneven flooring
- Poor lighting
- Sharp / jagged edges on shelves
- Lack of floor mats
- Broken steps / stairs
- Unattended shopping carts
- Debris in the aisles
- Cracked / uneven pavement
- Ice / snow on the sidewalk
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Common Accidents at Floor & Decor Stores
Unsafe conditions at a Floor and Decor can lead to a number of accidents, which can all result in serious injury. Here are some of the most common accidents that can occur on the premises of a Floor and Décor:
- Falling merchandise
- Trip and fall
- Slip and fall
- Shopping cart injuries
- Sidewalk / walkway injuries
- Broken stair / step accident
- Car accidents
Not all accidents can be blamed on the store, but business owners have a duty of care to protect their guests and visitors from dangerous conditions. That means owners must take reasonable measures to maintain their property, including fixing any hazards or warning the public of a hazard that can’t be fixed right away. Additionally, employees must be properly trained and supervised to ensure that they’re keeping up with their duties. Carelessness or negligence by employees often leads to dangerous conditions that can harm the customer.
To learn more about your rights and legal options following an accident at Floor and Decor, give us a call and speak with a California store accident injury attorney.
The Right to Sue Floor and Decor for an Accident on their Property
To sue Floor and Decor for an injury on their property, you must prove the following factors:
- The store had a duty of care to you as a legitimate visitor on their premises.
- There was a hazardous condition on the property that the store knew about, or should have known about.
- Reasonable measures could have been taken to resolve the hazard, like proper placement of items on shelves and putting up “wet floor” signs if there is a spill.
- The store breached their duty of care to you by failing to resolve the hazard.
- You had an accident as direct result of their negligence.
- Your accident caused bodily injuries and/or property damage, which entitles you to monetary compensation.
If you can prove all six of these factors, you have the basis for a premises liability claim against the store. The store, by the way, can be liable for your injuries even if an employee is responsible for the accident. In California, employers are vicariously liable for their employee’s actions under certain circumstances. Mainly, if the employee committed an act of negligence within the scope of their employment, the employer is vicariously responsible for any accidents resulting from the employee’s conduct.
Vicarious liability and premises liability are complicated concepts, so you should consult an attorney to determine their role in your accident. Our lawyers are here for you, so please don’t hesitate to give us a call.
Injuries from a Floor and Decor Store Accident
Any one of the previously mentioned accidents can cause serious injuries with long-term of lifelong consequences. Here are just some of the injuries you can suffer at a Floor and Decor store:
- Concussion
- Skull fracture
- Traumatic brain injury
- Broken bones and fractures
- Neck injury
- Spinal cord damage
- Eye injury
- Facial scarring
- Deep lacerations
- Torn ligaments and muscles
- Nerve damage
- Internal bleeding
- Dislocated shoulder
- Ankle / wrist sprain
- Hip fracture
In the most severe cases, an accident at a Floor and Decor can result in death, especially for adults over the age of 60. That’s why medical attention is so important following a falling merchandise, slip and fall, or any other type of accident at a Floor and Decor store. However, those are not the only steps you should take in order to protect your rights as an injury victim.
What to do if You’ve been Injured at a Floor and Décor
To protect your rights following an accident at a store, please take the following steps:
- Seek medical attention.
Many people put off seeing a doctor, or avoid it altogether if their injuries don’t seem that serious. However, many injuries seem minor in the beginning, but grow worse over time. This can compromise your recovery and create long-term consequences for your health. Additionally, not seeing a doctor right away can hurt your chances for monetary compensation, even if you have a strong case against the store.
- File an accident report.
This is another essential step in recovering compensation if the store is liable for your accident. If you’re not in severe pain or have life-threatening injuries, you can do this before you go to the hospital. Ask for a manager so that you can file an accident report, but be careful what you say to them. If they ask you questions that you’re not one hundred percent sure about, don’t respond, Speculating on what may or may not have happened is a trick used by retailers to place blame on the customer and invalidate their claim for monetary damages. You should also avoid signing anything until you’ve had it reviewed by an attorney.
- Gather Evidence.
Take pictures or record video of your injuries and the accident scene, and look around for surveillance cameras that may have captured footage of your incident. Make sure to preserve the clothes and shoes you were wearing, along with any other physical evidence of your accident. If there were any witnesses, try to get a statement from them in writing and ask them to sign and date the document. Or, get their contact information so that you or your lawyer can reach out to them later.
- Speak to an attorney.
As soon as you can, make sure to contact a lawyer that’s experienced with retail liability lawsuits. If your accident was caused by the store’s negligence or misconduct, you have the right to file an injury claim for your economic and emotional damages. However, you must take action right away to ensure that you are compensated in a timely manner.
Our attorneys can fight for the settlement you deserve for your suffering. Contact Normandie Law Firm and schedule a free case evaluation.
Compensation from a Floor and Decor Injury Lawsuit
If Floor and Decor is legally responsible for your accident, there are various forms of compensation you can demand in a lawsuit against the store. These damages include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages / lost earning capacity
- Emotional distress
- Property damage
- Legal fees
- Punitive damages
Punitive damages do not apply in every case, but they have been a factor in many accident claims we’ve handled for our clients. Essentially, punitive damages are awarded when the store was especially outrageous in their negligence or misconduct. This is hard to prove, which is why many lawyers do not bother with asking for punitive damages. However, our lawyers have many years of recovering store liability settlement awards, so we’re confident in our ability to bring you this compensation if your case meets the standard for punitive damages.
Wrongful death lawsuits are another type of legal action that can be taken against a Floor and Decor store. This type of claim is filed by the family members and loved ones of a deceased accident victim. Skilled legal representation is needed to prove that the accident was the direct cause of your loved one’s death. Additionally, you will need to prove that the store is legally responsible for causing the accident or falling to resolve a situation that led to the accident. If you are able to prove these elements, you may be able to recover:
- Funeral costs
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of expected earnings
- Lost benefits / inheritance
- Loss of consortium
- Legal fees
Our lawyers can explain each of these damages and ensure that you and your family are fairly compensated for your losses. Contact our office and schedule a time to speak with one of our attorneys.
The Personal Injury Lawsuit Attorneys of Normandie
We take it for granted that the stores we shop at are safe and well-maintained. However, DIY stores like Floor and Decor are highly prone to accidents, which is why owners and staff must be on the lookout for hazardous conditions on their property. If their lack of care and maintenance caused you bodily harm, you must speak to a lawyer right away and start the process of filing a claim for damages. While legal representation in not required, many victims are unsuccessful in proving a case for compensation without help from an experienced attorney.
To protect yourself from this outcome, please contact the personal injury lawyers of Normandie. We have decades of experience going after major retailers like Floor and Decor. We will fight tirelessly for your compensation award, while treating you with the respect and compassion you deserve. Best of all, you will not pay us a single penny upfront for our services, as a part of our Zero fee guarantee. We only get paid if you do, meaning all our fees are deferred until you receive your settlement award.
If you’re ready to learn more about your rights and legal options, please contact our law firm at your earliest convenience.
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