A woman is shopping in Goodwill. A large picture with a heavy frame is propped on top of a mattress, which is sitting on the floor leaning against the wall. The picture falls on the woman’s neck, severely injuring her.
The store is not liable.[1] Why?
To prove a retail business liable for injuries to a customer the injured customer has to prove either
1) The store or its employees caused the dangerous condition
2) The store had actual knowledge of the dangerous condition, or
3) The store had constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition.[2]
The woman had no evidence the store’s employees placed the heavy picture on top of the mattress, and the store denied it. The store’s general practice is to place large, heavy pictures in a vertical rack, on the floor, between other items – and never to hang them or display them on shelves. No one knows – or at least if they do, is no one is saying – how the heavy picture got on top of a mattress leaning against a wall.
Likewise the injured woman had no evidence the store had actual knowledge of the picture being precariously placed on a mattress that was leaning against a wall. The store denied any knowledge.
To prove constructive knowledge the personal injury victim must prove that the dangerous condition existed long enough that a person exercising ordinary care would have discovered it. Here there just is no proof of how long the picture was sitting on a mattress leaning against a wall.
Was it put in this precarious position seconds before she came into that part of the store? Minutes before? Hours? The injured woman had no evidence to prove how long it had been there, and therefore could prove it had been there long enough that the store should have discovered and remedied the problem.
This premises liability case demonstrates that the common misconception that retail stores are strictly liable for injury that occurs on their property is just not true. In fact, slip-and-fall and other premises liability cases are among the toughest to establish liability.
Still, no two premises liability cases are the same. Each turns on its facts and circumstances. Though we turn the majority of premises liability cases away, we have successfully litigated and settled many as well.
If you have been injured on someone else’s property you should have a personal injury attorney review your case immediately.
By personal injury attorney Travis Scott Eller
[1] Tinsley v. Tacoma Goodwill Industries, unpublished opinion (Div. I, No. 70344-7-1, July 22, 2013).
[2] Pimentel v. Roundup Co., 100 Wn.2d 39, 49, 666 P.2d 888 (1983).