Virginia Beach Shopping Center Sip and Fall Accident Lawyers

Attorneys help injury victims of mall and retail center accidents

Virginia Beach’s many amenities include its world-class shopping centers, such as Town Center, Lynnhaven Mall and The Shops at Hilltop. Here you can find staples for virtually any lifestyle as well as eclectic items that add panache to a wardrobe or home décor. But, like any highly trafficked area, shopping centers can present hazards for the unwary. If you suffer a slip or trip and fall, you can sustain serious injuries that don’t just ruin your day but also might impact your life from that moment on. If this should happen, Ernest Law Group, PLC is prepared to help. Our Virginia Beach shopping center slip and fall accident lawyers provide the legal representation you need to pursue the competition you deserve.

Why accidents often happen at shopping centers

A large commercial space, such as a shopping mall, provides ample risk for a shopper to slip or trip and fall. Some of the most frequent causes of shopping mall accidents are:

• Crowds of people — Shoppers moving through the space can change the environment. From spilling their drinks to dropping merchandise, visitors to a mall can create hazards faster than the staff can respond to them.
• Large parking lots — Vehicle traffic causes wear and tear on the pavement. Oil spills and rain puddles create slipping hazards, while cracks or potholes form nasty traps for passersby.
• Maintenance challenges — From the vantage point of floor space, a mall’s maintenance crews have expansive ground to cover. Malls that do not employ adequate, trained personnel cannot keep up with day-to-day cleaning or system repairs.

The commercial entity in charge of the mall, or the individual commercial tenants, have a continuing obligation to maintain safety.

Areas of a mall where accidents can occur

Injuries are most common in areas of a mall where large volumes of people pass through narrow corridors, where activity can quickly create messes or where mechanical failures, such as air-conditioning leaks, create hazards. These areas include:

• Food courts and restaurants
• Bathrooms and the areas around water fountains
• Escalators and stairs
• Kiosks
• Changing rooms
• Movie theaters
• Arcades

Wherever your injury occurs, you have rights under Virginia law.

Who is protected from Virginia shopping mall slip and fall accidents?

Visitors to a shopping mall are considered invitees, who receive the highest level of legal protection. Owners of a premises who invite visitors for a commercial purpose owe them a duty to make the grounds reasonably safe. This requires more than correcting or warning about known hazards. Commercial hosts have a duty to inspect for hidden hazards and can be held liable for hazards they should have known about. Additionally, owners must have protocols in place to remedy hazards that are likely to occur, such as floors becoming slippery, and they must do so within a reasonable time. 

Who is responsible for a Virginia Beach shopping center accident?

Depending on where the accident takes place, the responsible party could be the mall itself or a commercial tenant. Generally, when an accident happens in a common area, such as a fall on a sidewalk, the mall would be the defendant. But if the accident took place inside a store, the individual owner could be liable. This depends on the nature of the hazard and the terms of the commercial lease. A Virginia Beach premises liability lawyer can explain how the law applies in your case.

Contact our Virginia slip and fall attorneys for a shopping mall injury consultation

Ernest Law Group, PLC in Virginia Beach represents victims of accidents at shopping malls in the Hampton Roads area. Please call 757-289-2499 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.