Car falls into sinkhole at Boston area shopping mall

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Premises Liability, on Wednesday, March 5, 2014

In Massachusetts, as elsewhere in the country, shopping malls are often destinations of choice for entire families for shopping and a variety of other activities such as dining, moviegoing and other light entertainment.Recently, a shopping mall in Burlington saw a new “attraction” appear when a sinkhole opened in a parking lot and took an employee’s parked Toyota Camry down with it. According to Burlington police, the hole was the result of a break in a water main. No one was injured, but the mall had to be shut down so crews could make repairs. The mall reopened the next day with public works employees from the city of Burlington investigating the cause of the break. Investigators are unsure of whether the incident resulted from the harsh weather conditions in the region. According to a mall spokesperson, the car was towed away.At any commercial property like a shopping mall, the property owner is responsible for ensuring that the visitors to the premises are safe from any form of accident. This includes the maintenance of a property’s roads, floors, railings and parking lots in order to prevent potential accidents. In any accident resulting from hazardous conditions, inadequate security or lack of repairs at a public facility such as a shopping mall, a victim may be legally entitled to pursue a premises liability claim against a negligent property owner.A victim can sue the negligent party for medical expenses, lost wages due to absences from work and pain and suffering. However, the objective can only be achieved if a thorough investigation is conducted into the cause of the accident and the negligence of a property owner is established in court. For that, a victim should contact an attorney who is experienced in handling personal injury claims that arise out of premises liability. Source: The Boston Globe, “Burlington Mall reopens after sinkhole incident,” Jacqueline Tempera, Feb. 22, 2014