New Jersey Shopping Center Accident Lawyer

Mall Accident Attorney in Cherry Hill, NJ Handling Slip and Fall Injuries and Premises Liability Claims in Burlington County, Camden County, Cumberland County, and Throughout NJ

A single act of negligence is all it takes to cause a serious accident in a shopping center. If your trip to the mall left you with life-changing injuries due to someone else’s mistakes, a New Jersey shopping center accident lawyer at DiTomaso Law can stand up for you. We hold property owners, motorists, manufacturers, and other negligent parties accountable for their failures, pursuing compensation for the injured. 

When you’re visiting a shopping center as an invitee (that is, a customer or client) you’re legally entitled to the highest duty of care from the business owner. Don’t let a defendant try to shift the blame onto you or downplay the severity of your accident. Entrust your claim to a mall accident attorney in Cherry Hill, NJ, who’s prepared to fight tirelessly for your best interests. 

Our firm offers free consultations and represents the injured at no upfront cost. Contact us today to discuss your case with a dedicated personal injury attorney and find out what DiTomaso Law can do to assist you. 

The Consequences of Shopping Center Accidents in New Jersey 

In shopping malls across the state, accidents leave victims facing physical, financial, and emotional challenges. You have legal rights when you’ve been injured through another party’s negligence, including that of a mall, an individual store, or a property management company. 

Accidents Happen at NJ Malls, But Our Personal Injury Firm Can Help

With dozens of traditional indoor malls spread across the state, not to mention outlets, non-traditional indoor malls, and outdoor shopping centers, New Jersey has earned its reputation as the “Mall Capital” of the U.S. 

Not only is the state home to the first large indoor shopping center on the East Coast (Cherry Hill Mall, which opened in 1961), but it hosts the second-largest shopping mall in the nation: the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, Bergen County. This shopping center’s 3,000,000 sq. ft. of retail floor area encompasses 450 retail shops, more than 100 eateries, an indoor ice rink, an indoor ski slope, two miniature golf courses, an aquarium, an indoor year-round water park, and an indoor theme park that includes more than two dozen rides, including a number of roller coasters. 

Accidents happen at shopping centers of all kinds, and when they do, being prepared to take legal action promptly can make a big difference. 

At old, poorly maintained malls, cracked and uneven walking surfaces, loose and frayed carpets, and other types of premises hazards put customers at risk. If elevators, escalators, automatic doors, and other equipment haven’t been inspected and serviced appropriately, failures can lead to significant harm. 

Even at newer, more upscale malls, accidents occur. For example, accidents at the American Dream mall have included a fire, a snowboarding accident, water park accidents, and more, as well as a shooting that left a man injured. 

Whatever the circumstances surrounding your mall accident injury, your first step to accountability is an in-depth consultation with a New Jersey shopping center accident lawyer. We’re prepared to review the facts, advise you on your rights, and help you find the most promising path forward. 

Compensation You Can Recover for a Shopping Center Accident Injury 

An accident can turn a casual shopping trip or a fun outing into a crisis. Physical injuries can limit your mobility, fill every day with pain, and make even the most basic daily activities impossible. The financial costs, including medical expenses and wage loss, can be extremely stressful for the entire family. When you’re facing a long and uncertain recovery journey on top of these challenges, it’s not uncommon to struggle emotionally, too. 

A settlement or trial award should make you as whole as possible by covering losses such as: 

• Medical and rehabilitation costs, including hospital bills, treatment costs, surgery bills, medication costs, and physical therapy bills
• Income loss, including wage loss while your injuries keep you out of work temporarily and reduced earning capacity due to long-term disability 
• Out of pocket costs for making your home or vehicle more accessible or for bringing on outside assistance made necessary by your injuries 
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and permanent disfigurement, and other non-economic losses 

When someone else is responsible for your shopping mall accident, you deserve compensation for all of your losses. We’re committed to getting you that through careful analysis of the impact of the accident on your life, collaboration with expert witnesses to calculate and project losses, and extensive documentation of your damages. 

Types of Cases a Mall Accident Attorney in Cherry Hill, NJ, Can Handle for You

Injuries at malls can occur in many ways. As a New Jersey shopping center accident lawyer with comprehensive experience representing the injured, the team at DiTomaso Law is equipped to assist you with all types of incidents. 

Mall Slip and Falls

Slips, trips, and falls are particularly common issues in shopping centers. These accidents often occur due to slippery surfaces, spills, debris on the floor, tripping hazards, and even inadequate lighting. Both inside and outside the shopping center, owners, lessees, and maintenance companies must maintain the premises in safe condition for customers. Failing to do so can leave these parties facing liability for an accident. 

Slip and falls aren’t the only types of premises liability accidents that occur in shopping centers. Having an attorney with extensive experience handling these cases means that you’re prepared for complex liability disputes and extensive investigations. 

Escalator and Elevator Accidents 

In multi-story malls, stationary staircases aren’t the only means of traveling between floors. Many malls use escalators and elevators to move people from one story to another. 

Elevator and escalator accidents include: 

• Trips, slips, and falls
• Unexpected stops and movements
• Entrapment in doors, rails, and gaps between steps 
• Electric shock

These machines must be installed correctly and maintained and repaired properly to prevent mechanical failures, power failures, faulty control systems, door mishaps, step faults, and other issues. Escalators and elevators should have signage informing users of safety practices and warning them of dangers. 

Falling Merchandise or Decor Accidents 

Objects falling from overhead, whether from high shelves or suspended from the ceiling, can lead to significant harm. Retail stores should follow proper stocking procedures to avoid these hazards. In mall walkways, decor hanging from the ceiling can become loose if not safely and carefully secured, plummeting into the path of shoppers and potentially striking or crushing victims down below. 

Inadequate Security Cases Against Malls 

Malls can often be expected to implement reasonable security measures, especially if there are known or foreseeable safety risks to people visiting the premises. Negligent security cases may involve instances in which inadequate measures like the following contributed to intentional assaults or acts of violence: 

• Doors or gates with damaged or unused locks 
• Lack of appropriate security alarms, personnel, or procedures 
• Missing or non-functioning security cameras 

While an individual perpetrator may have been the one to physically attack you, the shopping center’s failure to provide reasonable security measures enabled the assault. They deserve to face the consequences, and you deserve the resources you need to face life after an injury. 

Products Liability Claims Arising Out of Mall Incidents

While many of the hazardous conditions that occur in and outside of malls result from improper maintenance, it’s also possible for product defects and malfunctions to be the underlying cause of accidents. In these instances, you might have grounds for a claim against the manufacturer of the dangerous product. We can help you pursue compensation from manufacturers of defective escalators and elevators, as well as those involved in the design or manufacture of other amenities in malls that house amusement parks, bowling alleys, and other types of recreational facilities. 

Shopping Center Parking Lot Crashes

Accidents also happen in the parking lots surrounding malls and shopping centers, especially when a motorist fails to follow traffic safety laws and signage. We help victims of the following type of traffic accidents: 

• Car accidents 
• Rideshare accidents
• Truck accidents 
• Bus accidents
• Motorcycle accidents 
• Bicycle accidents 
• E-bike accidents 
• E-scooter accidents
• Pedestrian accidents 

Parking lot accidents occur due to numerous types of negligence behind the wheel. Our firm assists the injured in holding at-fault drivers accountable for harm resulting from conduct such as drunk driving, distracted driving, failure to yield, speeding, wrong-way driving, and other types of unsafe vehicle operation. 

Proving Negligence in a Mall Accident Injury Claim

To hold the shopping center, individual commercial tenants, and property maintenance companies accountable for your losses, you need to establish all elements of negligence required by New Jersey law. These include: 

• A duty of care to maintain the premises in a safe condition, which, in this case, may include conducting routine inspections as well as repairing or warning of hazardous conditions 
• A breach of this duty, which may encompass failing to address spills, damaged walking surfaces, elevator and escalator maintenance needs, and other hazards
• Causation of the accident as a result of this breach of duty
• Damages arising out of the accident, ranging from medical expenses and income loss to non-economic losses like pain and suffering 

The mall or shopping center, along with other potential defendants in your claim, is unlikely to accept liability for your accident voluntarily. Instead, this party is likely to try to deny liability and place blame for the accident on someone else. The defendant may even claim that you are the one at fault, and that you should have been more careful or more aware of your surroundings. 

To prove all elements of negligence, our attorneys carry out a thorough investigation of the accident. We look at potential evidence such as store incident reports, photographs, video surveillance footage, witness statements, inspection logs, maintenance records, and prior incident reports or complaints. If needed, we can consult with expert witnesses in accident reconstruction, safety, and other relevant areas to establish that the defendant should have done more to maintain safe premises for customers. 

How DiTomaso Law Can Help

With service that spans the state, our firm is familiar with the numerous shopping centers where accidents and injuries occur, as well as the legal procedures required for successfully securing compensation. We take on every demand of the claims process for you, from an initial investigation and collection of evidence to resolving your case through a settlement or trial award that compensates you as fairly as possible. 

You never have to face the legal process alone. We handle every interaction, legal filing, deadline, and proceeding to provide peace of mind. 

Why Choose DiTomaso Law as Your New Jersey Shopping Center Accident Lawyer?

Choosing DiTomaso Law as your New Jersey shopping center accident lawyer means choosing a firm that provides dedicated advocacy inside and outside the courtroom, a track record of success, and genuine care for our clients’ well-being. 

Willingness to Take Your Case to Court

If the shopping center’s insurer thinks they can get away with paying you less than you deserve, they’re in for a shock. Our firm is always prepared to take our clients’ cases all the way to trial if necessary. With firm founder Richard DiTomaso’s designation as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, our team is comfortable in the courtroom and ready to present a compelling case on your behalf. 

Proven Results for Injured Clients 

Our history of success encompasses personal injury matters of all kinds. We have secured results in the six-figure range and beyond, achieving significant payouts for victims of premises liability cases, motor vehicle accidents, and other types of personal injury. We always pursue maximum compensation for our clients, because we know how important it is that you receive all of the resources you’re entitled to. 

A Commitment to Making a Positive Difference

Our team cares about our clients’ well-being beyond simply achieving favorable legal outcomes. We know how difficult living with an injury can be, and we pursue this area of practice because we have a genuine desire to help clients in challenging times see a positive impact on their lives through the legal process. To that end, you can expect responsive communication and personalized services from our firm. 

Contact a New Jersey Shopping Center Accident Lawyer at DiTomaso Law Today for a Free Case Evaluation

A shopping center accident claim can make you financially whole after an injury, providing resources to face the future and overcome the hardships you’re facing. The first step on the journey to justice is taking advantage of a free, no-obligation consultation with our legal team. We’re here to review the facts, assess your potential claim, and guide you on the next steps to take. 

For help from a mall accident attorney in Cherry Hill, NJ, contact DiTomaso Law online or call 856-414-0010 today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Shopping Center and Mall Accident Claims in New Jersey