If you were assaulted and severely injured by an employee of a shopping center, supermarket, bar, or other business you may have a claim against that business. Whether or not you have a claim will depend on the negligence of the business in hiring, training, and retaining the employee, whether or not you were a customer of the business at the time of the assault, your injuries from the assault, and whether it can be claimed you were the one who provoked the incident between yourself and the business’ employee.
One factor that will come into play for you assault case is what your legal status was at the time of the assault. Meaning were you an invitee, licensee, or trespasser on the property. If you were trespassing on the business than it will be very difficult to recover for your injuries from the assault. If you were a business invitee at the time of the assault the business will have a higher duty of care to you. An invitee is a person invited onto someone’s property to engage in social activities, to do some type of job on the property, or to shop at a business. A licensee is between a trespasser and invitee – where your presence on the property is tolerated although you were not specifically invited onto it. The typical scenario for an assault claim by an employee of a business is when you are a customer of that business.
Another factor is who the instigated the assault or incident between you and the employee of the business. For example, if there is evidence that you were acting recklessly and instigated the fight between yourself and the employee, then it will be difficult to bring a claim for your injuries from the assault. Beyond witness testimony there normally will be video evidence of this which can be obtained from the business. The business will also fill out an incident report. If the police get involved their report would also be evidence of who instigated the incident between yourself and the business employee.
A business will not be liable for your injuries from the assault from the act of its employee assaulting you alone. The business would be liable if it was negligent in its hiring, training, and retaining of the employee. An example of this is if the employee had incidents with customers before that should have led to the employee being fired, the employee was not fired, and then assaulted you. Or the business could be liable for doing a negligent background check. Here you would have to show that the employees criminal and other background shows the employee should not have been hired because he or she could be a threat to customers.
Besides proving negligence on the shopping center, supermarket, bar, or other business, you will also have to prove the assault caused you injuries. These will be the physical injuries you suffered from the assault, and the medical treatment needed for those injuries. If future medical treatment will be needed the costs of that future treatment can also be included in your damages claim. These injuries can be proven through your medical records, imaging studies, and through expert medical testimony. If you are unable to work due to your injuries, you can also include your past and future lost wages in your damages claim. This can be shown through your pay stubs, tax returns, and economic expert testimony.
The Thistle Law Firm is experienced at handling claims where an employee of a business assaults a customer. If you were a customer at a business and suffered injuries when an employee of that business assaulted you, the attorneys at The Thistle Law Firm are here to take your call at 215-568-6800.