Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Is Overcrowding /Over Maximum Occupancy, grounds to sue a store, if a person fell and injured, because too many people were tight in one place and person-to-person friction occurred... Shouldn't the store keep some people outside until customers exit elsewhere?.. I know, its a fire code violation to have too many people overcrowding inside a building, but would a person have grounds to sue for Premises Liability/Personal Injury due to maximum occupancy overflow,resulting in a fall injury inside the overcrowded store?
1 Answer from Attorneys
It's a potential claim - consider the Thanksgiving/Black Friday sales where people are tearing at one another in stores. The store's insurance company won't cave in however.
Keep in mind that California is a comparative fault state - that means the store isn't going to be 100% responsible, as some responsibility lies in the injured person for putting himself or herself in an overcrowded store in the first place. It's an issue of assumption of the risk.
In a personal injury trial, the jury (or judge if a jury is waived) will make a determination to how much the store is at fault, how much the person who directly injured the plaintiff is at fault, and how much the plaintiff is at fault for his or her own injuries.
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