The Home Depot is one of the largest, most popular retail chains in America. They have a duty to maintain a reasonably safe store and ensure that any hazardous conditions are promptly cleaned up or repaired.

When safety rules are ignored and you get hurt, the consequences can be life-changing. Medical bills pile up. Lost wages leave you stressed. Pain and suffering make daily life harder. That’s where we come in.

At the Lee Steinberg Law Firm, we have fought – and won – against corporate giants like the Home Depot for more than 50 years. We know their tactics, we know their defenses, and we know how to get results for injured Michiganders.

About the Home Depot

The Home Depot is a home-improvement store founded in 1978 and operates over 2,300 stores in North America. With over $165 billion in revenue, the Home Depot sells products and services to do-it-yourself customers and professional customers.

Home Depot Locations

The Home Depot has locations throughout Michigan. Some locations include Detroit, Dearborn, Southfield, Troy, Allen Park, Novi, Pontiac, Ann Arbor, Howell, Burton, Flint, Saginaw, Midland, Lansing, Bay City, Jackson, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Cadillac, Utica, Chesterfield, and other cities.

What Should I Do If I Was Injured at Home Depot?

If you are injured at Home Depot, it is essential to report the incident to a store employee and complete an incident report. Take photographs of the area that caused your injury. For example, if water is leaking in an aisleway, take pictures of the water if possible. The incident report helps establish a record. If there are any witnesses, try to obtain their contact information. An experienced Michigan slip and fall lawyer will contact the witness to help substantiate your case.

Additionally, try to obtain the names of the store employees who assisted you or attempt to clean up the scene after the fall. A single Home Depot store can employ more than 150 employees. Many of them don’t stay for very long and move on to a different job. It’s vital to get the person’s information while you still can, in case you need it later.

If you require medical treatment, don’t hesitate to visit a hospital or urgent care facility. You don’t want to make a bad problem worse by refusing to get medical help. An X-ray and physical examination can help rule out more serious injuries, such as a broken bone.

What Are Common Reasons for Injuries at Home Depot?

Home Depot employees are required to receive training on maintaining a safe store environment. They have protocols in place to clean up spills, repair defective shelves, or place signs in a designated location. But sometimes this fails to happen. Some of the more common reasons for injuries at the Hope Depot:

Trips and falls over folded or slippery mats
Ice and snow in the parking lot or sidewalk outside the store
Falling merchandise that was not properly stacked
Misplaced merchandise on the floor
Getting hit by an employee using a large push cart
Display units that fall

What Are Common Injuries in a Home Depot?

There are common injuries that occur in large retail stores, like the Home Depot. In our experience, some of the more common injuries that occur at the home improvement store include:

Head injuries and gashes
Concussion and closed head injury
Broken bones
Back and neck injuries
Facial injuries
Torn ligaments and tendons

The personal injury lawyers at the Lee Steinberg Law Firm will get your medical records and provide them to the insurance company to show the severity of your injuries.

What is an Example of a Home Depot Case?

Our law firm recently settled a slip-and-fall incident that occurred in the garden section of Home Depot. Our client was attempting to place a large bag of soil onto her push cart. However, instead of placing the price stakes well away from the stacked topsoil bags, an employee chose to put them on the ground next to the bags. The price stakes were approximately 12 inches tall and a trip hazard. They were hidden by the topsoil bags. Our client could not see the price stake and tripped and fell, causing a severe injury.

We fought back and secured a significant recovery for her losses.

How Do I Get the Surveillance Video of My Accident?

Stores like Home Depot do not like to release video of the accident. Videos are important because they (1) prove the incident occurred and (2) record the defective condition that caused the injuries. Usually, the store will not provide video footage until ordered to do so by the court or judge, once a lawsuit is filed.

However, it is important to send a preservation letter to the store as quickly as possible after the incident. Many stores will try to erase video that is damaging to their case. A knowledgeable Home Depot injury lawyer will write, mail, and email a preservation letter to the store, requesting that they preserve all video footage of the incident.

If the store fails to do this, a judge can impose an adverse jury instruction as a sanction for the spoliation of the evidence. The jury instruction usually tells the jury that they can infer the lost video was harmful to the Home Depot’s case. This is very powerful evidence.

How Much Time Do I Have to File a Lawsuit Against the Home Depot?

Under Michigan law, an injured person usually has three (3) years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit against Home Depot and any other proper parties. This is referred to as a statute of limitations.

The timeline is longer for children. Minors typically have until their 19th birthday to file a lawsuit. However, as time passes, memories fade and witnesses disappear. It is important to contact a Home Depot injury lawyer after an incident as quickly as possible to preserve evidence and win your case.

Should I Give a Recorded Statement to a Home Depot Representative?

No, absolutely not. Do not give any recorded statements to a Home Depot representative without first contacting a good Michigan slip and fall injury lawyer. The representative usually works for a third-party company hired by the Home Depot. Their job is to minimize the damage claim for their client. The representative may try to get you to say things that are not true and only hurt your case.

Contact a Michigan Home Depot Injury Lawyer

The Lee Steinberg Law Firm has recovered tens of millions of dollars for victims injured in big box stores. Recently, our firm settled a case for almost $6,000,000 on behalf of a victim of a spill at a large retail establishment. Call our Home Depot injury lawyers today to get your questions answered and your case started.

The consultation is always free, and we never charge any legal fees until we win your case.

Michigan Home Depot Injury Lawyers