Sample Compensation Demand Letter for a Shopping Mall Injury Claim

Take advantage of our sample letter and practical tips when writing your own demand for compensation after getting injured at a shopping mall.

Every community has shopping malls and shopping centers open to the public. We expect these properties to be safe inside and out.

Yet, claims against shopping malls for falls and other personal injuries happen all the time. Common shopping mall injuries arise from falls, escalator problems, inadequate security, and more.

When you’re injured by a dangerous condition caused by a negligent property owner, you’re entitled to seek compensation for your losses.

Severe injury claims should be handled by an experienced personal injury attorney to get fair compensation.

If you’ve recovered from relatively minor soft-tissue injuries, you can probably reach a fair insurance settlement on your own. You just need to learn the personal injury claim process.

The negotiations phase begins with your formal, written demand for a specific amount of compensation. We provide a sample letter below and give tips on how to support your demand.

Putting Together Your Demand Packet

While you’re recovering from your injuries, you can gather the documentation you’ll need to support your claim. This can include:

  • Medical records and bills
  • Receipts for out-of-pocket expenses
  • Statement of lost wages from your employer
  • Witness statements
  • Photographs and video

Try to get pictures of the place you were injured and of the hazardous condition. It’s always a good idea to take pictures of your bruises and wounds right after the injury and throughout your recovery.

If you were injured in a shopping mall building or parking lot, there might be video footage of your injury as it occurred. Be sure to ask the mall to preserve all video footage for that day – just don’t expect them to give you a copy. If your claim doesn’t settle, your attorney can subpoena the film.

Before writing your demand letter, use your bills and lost wage statements to calculate the value of your injury claim.

Sending a Polished Demand Letter

You want the claims adjuster to take your claim seriously, even though you’re handling the claim on your own. With a little attention to detail, there’s no reason you can’t prepare a demand letter that looks just as polished as one from an attorney’s office.

  • Use the review functions to check your grammar and spelling
  • Make sure names and addresses are spelled correctly
  • Double-check your math in the demand section
  • Print your letter on good quality bond paper

Your demand letter should include:

  • Statement of Facts: Describe the circumstances just before, during and after you were injured
  • Liability: Explain why the shopping mall is directly responsible for your injuries
  • Injuries: Describe your injuries and how they impacted your life
  • Damages: Give a cost list of all your damages

Send the letter by USPS certified mail, return receipt requested to confirm the date the insurance company receives the letter.

Sample Shopping Mall Injury Demand Letter

Your demand letter will explain how your injuries occurred, and why the shopping mall is responsible for your damages. The letter will include your first formal demand for compensation.

Here is a sample demand letter to a negligent shopping mall’s insurance company. Our fictional victim was injured after a hard fall from a malfunctioning escalator.

Click the buttons to see helpful hints for writing your letter.

Pam McRay
3252 Houston Rd.
Springfield, MA 01102

May 10, 2020

Your letter date should be the day you mail your demand packet.

ABC Insurance Company
1010 High Street
New York, NY 10007
Attn: Sydney Roberts

Your Insured: Oak Lane Mall

Re: Injury on March 14, 2020

The insurance company may refer to your injury date as the “Loss Date,” “Date of Loss,” or “DOL.”

Claim Number:  456456B

FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY

Adding “For Settlement Purposes Only” at the top of your letter indicates the content of your letter should not be used as evidence if your claim progresses to litigation.

Dear Mr. Roberts:

As you know, I was seriously injured on the morning of March 14, 2020, by a violent fall from an escalator in your insured’s shopping mall. The evidence shows your insured’s negligence is directly responsible for my injuries and related damages.

The violent fall left me with bleeding abrasions and bruises to both hands and forearms, and two badly sprained wrists, through no fault of my own.

If not for the negligence of Oak Lane Mall, I would not have suffered injuries that kept me helpless and out of work for two weeks, and in pain for a full month.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On March 14, 2020, at approximately 11:00 a.m., I was shopping at the Oak Lane Mall in Springfield, Massachusetts. To get to the second floor, I took the up escalator at the northern end of the mall.

After buying some jeans at the Jeans Outlet, I took the down escalator, also located at the northern end of the second floor. I had my right hand on the escalator rail. I was carrying a small shopping bag in my left hand, and my cross-body purse was on my left side. There was no way I could have known the escalator was about to malfunction. I could not have prevented what happened next.

Make clear from the start that you did nothing to contribute to your injuries. In states like Massachusetts, the adjuster can use comparative fault rules as an excuse to deny or reduce your claim.

I was about four steps away from the bottom of the escalator when it abruptly jerked to a stop, throwing me violently down the steps to the hard floor below. As I crashed onto the floor, I put my hands out in front of me to break my fall. The force of the impact was so powerful that it caused searing and acute pain to both of my wrists and forearms.

Using descriptive words like “violently” and “searing” paint a vivid word picture of your experience. Don’t use the word “accident” as it implies it was nobody’s fault.

Immediately after my fall, several shoppers helped me to my feet. One of the shoppers, Jane Simpson, called out to a security guard, David Foster. Noticing my hands and forearms were bleeding and bruised, he escorted me to the security office and gave me first-aid for my wounds.

Ms. Simpson saw the escalator jerk to a stop and hurl me to the floor. She came along to the security office with me because I was shaking and crying. A copy of her statement is enclosed.

Do your best to convince a witness to give their statement. Having a neutral third party back up your version of events will strengthen your claim.

After Mr. Foster gave me first-aid, he helped me to call my husband. My husband dropped our daughter off at my mother’s house and came to get me at the mall security office. I was in no condition to drive my car.

INJURIES AND TREATMENT

My husband met me at the mall security office and took me directly to the Urgent Care Clinic on Wilbraham Street in Springfield.

I was examined and treated by Dr. Bruce Armentrout. After X-rays were taken of both my hands and forearms, Dr. Armentrout diagnosed my injuries as sprained left and right wrists, along with abrasions and bruises to both hands and both forearms. The nurse applied a topical antibiotic and re-bandaged the abrasions on my hands and arms. Then, both wrists were fitted with braces.

The doctor said I had to change the bandages every couple of days and to wear the braces round the clock for at least two weeks. I was told to take Ibuprofen three times a day for pain and swelling.

Dr. Armentrout ordered me not to drive or return to work for two weeks to allow my wrist sprains to heal. Following his advice, I called in sick to work for the two weeks immediately after my injuries. I went back to work as soon as I was allowed, but I lost two weeks’ wages.

Follow your doctor’s orders to the letter. It shows the adjuster you weren’t malingering or trying to prolong your treatment unnecessarily. Let the adjuster know that you’re a productive member of society and you returned to work as soon as medically possible.

It took every bit of four weeks from the date of my injuries for my hands and arms to fully heal. During that time, I experienced great pain and discomfort. The pain and limited use of my hands and wrists made every daily task difficult. My husband had to help me with my hair, buttoning my clothes, and even tying my shoes. He also had to help our daughter, since mommy couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t drive, hold onto a skillet or make a pot of coffee. Besides the physical pain, I felt miserable and useless.

Tell the adjuster your recovery included more than the minor pain and suffering normally associated with personal injury claims. Communicate how every aspect of your life was unnecessarily interrupted because of the negligence of the insured.

WORK HISTORY

I have worked for the last three years as an assistant manager at Mahoney’s Restaurant in Springfield, Massachusetts. I need the full use of my hands at work to write, run a cash register, help with table setups, serve coffee, and many other tasks. I’m a dependable employee with an excellent attendance record.

As you can see from the doctor’s notes, he ordered me to stay off work for at least two weeks to allow my severely sprained wrists to heal. I would rather have been at work than at home, unable to do anything, and worrying about the loss of income.

I missed two weeks of work because your insured failed to keep their escalator in good running order.

A consistent work history shows you’re a responsible and contributing member of society. Communicate to the adjuster that missing work is unusual for you and that you rarely miss work due to illness.

DAMAGES

The following is a list of my medical bills and other financial losses related to this claim. Copies of my medical bills, wage statement, and other supporting paperwork is enclosed.

Urgent Care

$800

Medications, splints, bandages

$75

Lost Wages

$1,400

Pain and Suffering

$5,000

Total Damages

$7,275

DEMAND

To compensate me for the physical pain, emotional distress, and financial losses I sustained because of the negligence of your insured, I demand the total amount of $7,275 to resolve my injury claim.

Please respond within fifteen (15) business days. I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Pam McRay
pam@example.com

If you include an email address, use your home email. Employers have a legal right to see any communications and attachments in work email.

When You Need an Attorney

If you’ve taken the time to learn how the claim negotiation process works, you can usually negotiate a fair settlement on your own without a hitch.

When your claim suddenly gets complicated, or the adjuster won’t agree to a fair settlement, it’s good to know you have the right to consult a personal injury attorney.

For example, talk to an attorney if the mall owner is blaming another party, like the escalator company. You might have a product liability claim against the equipment manufacturer, in addition to your injury claim against the mall.

Don’t give up or settle for less because you’re dealing with an unreasonable adjuster. It’s amazing how fast they change their tune once an attorney gets involved.

Get the legal help you need. Most injury attorneys don’t charge for their initial consultation. It costs nothing to find out what an experienced attorney can do for you.