My family and I were shopping at a grocery store and an electric cart rammed right into me and my 2yr old daughter. Someone called 911 at the time. Now the store is calling me asking me questions.
I am okay physically. A claim officer is supposed to call me from the store’s insurance company but I don’t know what to do. I made no police report but now I’m thinking I should have made one. The fire department EMS who came said my daughter’s leg was not broken. This happened in a major grocery store.
What should I do?
Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.
Answer
Dear Manuel,
Make sure you both were not seriously injured. Other than the responding paramedics it appears neither of you sought immediate medical care after the accident.
You didn’t mention what caused the electric cart to run into you. The cause of the electric cart running into the both of you is important.
Although what happened must have been quite upsetting at the time, absent any physical injuries, unless you can prove an employee of the store purposely ran the electric cart into you and your daughter, you will not have much of a claim.
Because the police didn’t respond to the scene a police report will not be available. Attempting to get one at this point will be virtually impossible.
You can request a copy of the dispatch record sending the paramedics to the scene. You can do that by contacting the owner of the ambulance company
You can also request a copy of the 911 call. You will have to decide what you really want. Without injuries you really won’t be able to carry this claim forward.
As long as you are quite sure you and your daughter are alright, the best thing to do is be careful and watch out for rapidly approaching electric grocery carts.
Learn more here: Slip and Falls in Grocery Stores and Supermarkets
The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.
Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.
We wish you the best with your claim,
How Much is Your Injury Claim Worth?
Find out now with a FREE case review from an attorney…
The same thing happened to me. An elderly lady that was left unattended for a few moments ran into me and did not know how too back up and rammed me three times in the hip.
My feet were caught in the rug and I could not move, causing me to have the same problems for nearly a year now. It is the same as a small auto accident.
My entire life is now limited and painful. It caused the entire spine to be injured. I turned in a report, but they had left or could not be found.
So God bless us all cause unless it happens to them, people don’t care, I feel his pain and frustration. All I was doing was shopping for food. So, who is responsible?
I will learn to live with this, but it makes me sad that the store does not care for its loyal customers and that the insurance adjuster can just jot a few brief sentences down and dismiss you as if you do not matter.
I on occasion use an electric cart supplied by the establishment I am shopping in, but I always consider and guard my movements.
Elderly people should not be left alone for a moment if they are not capable of driving. Please tell everyone to consider the use of an electric cart and the other people in the stores.
I too was at a major big box retailer and a woman driving the store’s electric cart with a huge basket in front of it rammed right into my left side. I was not looking in her direction so I had no time to react.
The result – I have injuries of that of a small car crash…I have back, neck, and head pain and I’m now having to go to physical therapy. All because someone was not looking where they were driving!
So…who is liable in these situations? How is it that people that get hurt are judged?
I didn’t ask for this….but I did file an injury report and I did go to urgent care. I have injuries that are impeding my regular daily life…so making these inquires on liability like the man did here for he and his daughter was only looking out for himself.
Who is protected for freak accidents in big box stores? If the store has insurance, perhaps they should pick up any claims that happen on their property.
The store is questioning you because liability claims are filed every day over situations like this. Who was driving the cart? If it was an employee of the store, that’s one thing, but if it was another customer, you would probably have to go after the customer.
Your comment about this being a major grocery store makes me wonder about your motives. I’d be thankful you and your daughter are okay and get on with your lives.