Holiday shopping brings bigger crowds, tighter aisles, and faster cleanup cycles, especially in Philadelphia-area malls and busy retail corridors. Because of that, injuries in stores tend to spike during the season. If you get hurt in a mall or retail store during the holidays, you should focus on two priorities right away: get the medical help you need and preserve the evidence that explains why the incident happened. When you take the right steps early, you protect your health, and you also reduce the chance that a store or insurer later tries to minimize what occurred.
Step One: Get Medical Attention Immediately, Even If You Want To Keep Shopping
Your health comes first. If you hit your head, feel dizzy, see stars, feel nauseated, or cannot remember what happened clearly, treat that as urgent. The same is true if you cannot bear weight, have significant swelling, or feel sharp pain in your wrist, ankle, knee, hip, neck, or back. Ask staff to call for medical assistance, or call 911 if needed.
Even if the injury seems minor, you should still get evaluated the same day. Falls can cause concussions, hairline fractures, ligament tears, and back injuries that show up later, once adrenaline fades. In addition, prompt treatment creates medical documentation that links your symptoms to the incident date, which often becomes a major issue in retail injury claims.
Step Two: Report The Incident To A Manager And Request An Incident Report
You should notify a manager right away, even if you feel embarrassed or you want to leave quickly. Ask for an incident report to be completed, and make sure the report includes the correct location inside the store or mall, along with the time and basic circumstances. If the store will not give you a copy, ask for the report number, the manager’s name, and the best contact person for follow-up.
If you feel too shaken to speak clearly, you can keep it simple. Say you were injured, identify where it occurred, and ask that the condition be documented. Then take your own notes after you leave, including the time you reported it and who you spoke with.
Similar Post: Winter Weather Woes: Navigating Philadelphia’s Slip and Fall Claims After Snow and Ice Accidents
Step Three: Photograph And Video The Area Before It Changes
Retail environments change quickly, especially during the holidays. Spills get wiped up, warning cones appear after the fact, displays move, and mats get repositioned. Because evidence disappears fast, take photos and video as soon as you can do so safely.
Focus on the hazard and the context around it. Capture the floor condition from multiple angles, including wider shots that show where the hazard sits in relation to aisles, entrances, escalators, checkout lines, or restrooms. Also capture lighting and visibility, since dim corners and glare can matter.
Common hazards worth documenting include:
- Liquid spills, melted ice, or slush near entrances
- Wet tile without any warning cones or signs
- Loose rugs or curled mats
- Uneven flooring, broken tiles, or raised thresholds
- Cluttered aisles with boxes, carts, or restocking materials
- Merchandise or displays protruding into walking paths
- Escalator or elevator issues, including abrupt stops or misleveling
- Poor lighting in corridors, stairwells, or parking structures
Also photograph your shoes and clothing. If your pants show wetness or your shoes have residue, that detail can help confirm the conditions you encountered.
Step Four: Collect Witness Information Before People Disappear
Holiday foot traffic means people come and go quickly. If anyone saw what happened, ask for their name and phone number. If they mention they noticed the hazard earlier, or they saw an employee walk past it, write that down in your notes. Witnesses can make a huge difference when a store later argues the hazard appeared moments before the incident, or when the store claims there was a warning sign in place.
Step Five: Ask About Surveillance Cameras Even If You Cannot Get The Video Yourself
Many stores and malls have security cameras. However, if you do not have a lawyer, you usually cannot walk out with the footage or force the store to hand it over. Still, it helps to ask about cameras now because footage can be recorded over within days, and you want to flag it while it still exists.
At the scene, ask a manager whether cameras cover the area and write down what they say. Then ask the store to note in the incident report that surveillance may have captured the fall and the condition of the floor. If you can, take a quick photo showing where the cameras are located.
This step gives you a clearer path if you later decide to pursue a claim because it documents that cameras were present and that you raised the issue early.
Step Six: Keep Your Words Factual And Avoid Guessing
After a fall, people often say things to be polite or to reduce tension, such as it is my fault, I am fine, or I was not paying attention. However, those statements can come back later in a way that hurts you. Instead, keep your comments simple and factual. Describe the condition you encountered and the area where it happened, and avoid guessing about why the hazard existed or how long it had been there.
If a store employee asks for a detailed statement while you are still in pain or shaken up, you can say you will follow up later after you receive medical care. You do not need to argue. You just need to avoid creating confusion.
Step Seven: Do Not Sign Broad Waivers Or Accept Quick Gifts That Close The Door to Compensation
Sometimes stores offer a small gift card, a discount, or a quick payment for urgent care in exchange for signing paperwork. You should read everything carefully. If anything looks like a release of claims or a waiver, do not sign it on the spot. Once you sign away rights, you may lose the ability to pursue compensation later, even if your injuries turn out to be more serious than you first realized.
Step Eight: Preserve Receipts, Records, And Practical Proof
To strengthen your timeline, save anything that shows you were in the store and when. That includes receipts, parking stubs, electronic purchase confirmations, and return paperwork. Save any photos you took, and back them up.
Also keep:
- Medical discharge papers and follow-up instructions
- Appointment cards, imaging results, and physical therapy notes
- Out-of-pocket receipts for braces, crutches, medication, and travel
- A brief daily log of symptoms, limitations, and missed activities
That symptom log helps because many retail injury cases involve pain that interferes with work, sleep, and daily life, even when injuries are not visible from the outside.
Step Nine: Understand Why Stores Often Dispute These Claims
Retail injury claims often trigger quick pushback. Stores and insurers commonly argue:
- The hazard was open and obvious
- The injured person was distracted by a phone or shopping bags
- The hazard appeared too recently for staff to address it
- A warning cone or sign was present
- The person had a pre-existing condition
Because of that, the strongest cases usually involve early documentation, witness support, and clear medical records. The sooner you lock in those details, the less room there is for the story to shift.
Step Ten: Know That Liability Can Involve More Than One Party
Mall and retail injuries can involve several responsible entities, depending on where you fell and what caused the condition. For example, a spill inside a store may fall on the store. However, an icy entryway, a slippery corridor outside the store, a broken handrail, or a poorly maintained parking area may involve the mall owner, a property management company, or a maintenance contractor. Sorting that out takes a careful look at the exact location, the lease responsibilities, and who controlled the area.
Holiday-Specific Hazards To Watch For In Malls And Retail Stores
During the holidays, certain conditions show up again and again. You may run into:
- Rain and snow tracked inside, creating slick entryways
- Overcrowded aisles that force shoppers into narrow paths
- Temporary displays that reduce sight lines and create trip hazards
- Restocking activity with carts, boxes, and pallets in walkways
- Food court spills and sticky floors
- Escalator congestion that increases the risk of falls and pileups
- Parking lot hazards, including poor lighting, puddles, and ice patches
If your injury involves one of these common scenarios, your photos, witness notes, and timeline become even more important, because the store will often claim the condition happened too quickly to prevent.
Similar Post: Hurt in a Philadelphia Parking Garage Crash? Who's Liable for Damages?
What If You Were Injured But You Do Not Have Photos?
You can still protect your personal injury claim. If you could not take photos due to pain or staff pressure, focus on what you can gather now. Write down the exact location, the time, what the floor looked like, and what you noticed about signs or cones. Identify anyone who was with you. Pull any receipts or location data from your phone. Also request a copy of the incident report information and keep a record of who you spoke with.
What If The Store Blames You?
Do not accept blame in the moment. Instead, stay calm and keep the focus on facts. Many injuries happen because stores fail to address foreseeable hazards, especially during high-traffic shopping periods. You can acknowledge that you were shopping without agreeing that you caused the hazard or created the unsafe condition that led to the slip and fall accident and your injuries.
When You Should Consider Legal Guidance
Following a slip and fall accident, you may want guidance if you suffered a head injury, fracture, significant back or neck pain, surgery, extended physical therapy, lost wages, or long-term symptoms. You may also want guidance if the store denies fault, claims you were distracted, refuses to provide incident report details, or will not preserve footage.
Were You Injured in a Slip and Fall Accident While Shopping? Contact van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim for a Free Consultation
A mall or retail store injury can disrupt your health, your work, and your daily routine quickly. If you were injured while shopping during the holidays in Philadelphia or elsewhere in Pennsylvania, van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim can help you understand your options, identify the evidence that matters most, and take steps to protect your claim. Give us a call today at 215-486-0123 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
Disclaimer: This blog is intended for informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. It should not be considered as legal advice. For personalized legal assistance, please consult our team directly.