Cement Ball Rolling Through Target Store’s Parking Lot

In the beginning of February, a red cement ball started rolling across Paramus, New Jersey’s Target parking lot, known to be one of the busiest parking lots for this retailer. The ball caused thousands in property damage and was caught on camera rolling into cars until somebody was able to stop it, but not before the damage was done. One lady received about $3,500 in damage to her vehicle. However, when she filed a claim with Target, her claim was denied. The cement ball broke loose when it was caught on camera that a pick up truck bumped into it, dislodging it from its station.

A week after the initial report was made, Target began making repairs to the bollards to ensure that they would not break loose so easily. Even weeks later, Target knew about the damage that its giant red balls were causing and made attempts at repairs, but would still not take responsibility or budge on the property claims. Now the woman with damages to her vehicle vows to take Target to small claims court for her damages. But what would have happened if a person was injured in an accident on Target’s property?

Injury Liability by Businesses

Businesses owe a legal duty of care to customers, to keep them safe from all harm. If a business breaches that duty of care and causes harm to a customer in some way, they may be held liable for injuries. A business has many duties on their premises, such as regularly cleaning to prevent slip and falls, immediately repairing cracked pavement on the property, and regularly inspecting the premises for defects that could cause harm for customers. This means that they should be regularly checking the bollards at Target. Because Target had problems with the bollards knocking loose before, they should have reasonably known about the problem and fixed it immediately.

If somebody had been injured as a result of Target’s negligence or a defective bollard, they could be held liable for these injuries and pay reasonable compensation to the victim. A victim could receive damages under the premise of negligence on behalf of the company. If you have been injured in a similar situation due to the negligence of a business, call us today for more information on how we can help you.