Grocery Store Shopper is Injured by Falling Shelves

Case Overview

This case takes place in New York and involves an elderly male who attempted to reach merchandise on a high shelf at a large grocery retailer. As the man attempted to remove merchandise from the shelf, a failure in one of the shelf’s components caused the entire shelving unit to tip over. The man stumbled and fell as he attempted to escape from the falling shelf, causing him to hit his head on a concrete wall. As a result of this fall, the man fractured his skull and expired shortly thereafter. It is alleged that the retailer failed to adhere to the appropriate standards for displaying merchandise, as well as their obligations towards securing retail shelving and ensuring patron safety.

Questions to the Slip And Fall expert and their responses

Please describe your familiarity with the appropriate standards of safety for retail shelving / racks where sale merchandise is displayed?

As a store planner for more than 30 years, I have been directly involved in the layout, acquisition and installation of many major retail shelving/rack projects. My experience involves retailers such as Walmart, CVS, Pathmart, Stop and Shop, Target, and Sears. I understand the structural, functional, and merchandising aspects of every major US manufacturer's display systems. With two degrees in architecture and vast engineering experience, I can without question evaluate the condition of the tracks at the accident scene and provide a compelling opinion with strong backup documentation. Obviously, a situation like this should never occur, and failures of this nature are usually related to negligence during the shelf's assembly.

Have you ever been the target of a negligence claim for failing to adequate secure racks / shelving in a retail store setting - resulting in a collapse or accident like the one described above?

In all my years of practice, I have never had a negligence claim issued against my clients nor myself.

Do you have any publications/lecturing experience in the retail safety field?

I have been published in trade magazines on several occasions pertaining to design and safety issues. I have lectured to all the major trade organizations (National Associates of Store Fixture Manufacturers, National Retailers Federated Association, Institute of Store Planners, and more) on the subject of retail design, display, and customer service.

About the expert

This expert has been in the retail and retail planning industry for over 40 years. He received his Bachelor of Science in Architectural Technology from the New York Institute of Technology prior to earning a Bachelor of Architecture from City University of New York - City College. Awarded the honor of Fellow of the Institute of Store Planners, his articles on store design have been featured in Display Design Ideas and New York Magazine and he has been an invited speaker at trade shows sponsored by the likes of the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers, the National Retailers Federated Association, and the Store Planning and Equipment Counsel. He has held executive and management positions as a store planner with multiple retail companies, and he is currently the Principal of his own retail store planning consulting firm that specializes in store layout, design, and safety with a client base that includes Macy's, Walmart, Kmart, Sears, Stop and Shop, and many more.