Sam’s East Not Found Liable for Obstruction Injury

The crux of personal injury law is that if you are injured by the negligent, reckless, or malicious actions or inactions of another person or entity, then you deserve justice for your losses from those who caused you harm. While a need for justice may be obvious in the wake of injurious circumstances, it takes a lot to prove a personal injury case in a court of law. 

What typically happens in a personal injury scenario is as follows: The plaintiff, with the help of a good personal injury attorney in Las Vegas, NV like those at Eric Roy Law Firm, crafts a claim of damages. For example, if you were harmed as a result of negligence on the part of a retailer, you’d allege as much in a lawsuit, detailing how much compensation you’re owed and why. Typically, after a good deal of negotiations and time, your case would hopefully end in a settlement that would cover your losses and then some. 

However, when the identity of the true wrongdoer who caused a victim’s injuries is unclear and the person or entity that is originally named as a defendant in a lawsuit is not found liable for the harm alleged, that is typically the end of the case in question. This is what happened to a resident of Georgia and is one reason why it is so important to work with an attorney who will do their utmost to accurately name the defendant(s) in your case before filing it.

The Case

In a case against Sam’s East (Sam’s Club), a Georgia district court judge ruled that Sam’s Club employees are not liable after a Georgia resident was injured by a mattress that was initially secured to another customer’s vehicle became unsecured and fell into the road. After the victim’s car struck the mattress, she sustained injuries which resulted in the resident filing the lawsuit against Sam’s East. 

The driver whose car initially bore the mattress had purchased it at Sam’s Club. They got assistance from two employees who helped to load it onto the driver’s truck. The judge ruled in favor of Sam’s East, indicating that “A defendant who is not an operator of the vehicle, but assists in loading said vehicle, can only be liable for failing to securely fasten the load if the loader ignores safety measures that a reasonable person would foresee for the load tol be transported on a public road. However, just because the mattress becomes loose does not mean that it wasn’t securely fastened to begin with and that there are many causes unrelated to the fastener that can initiate the unfastening of the load.”