Gas Station and Convenience Store Accidents

Many situations can cause injuries at gas stations and convenience stores. Among the types of harm that may occur are slip and falls, gasoline burns, third-party criminal attacks, fires, car crashes, and vapor inhalation scorching. Sometimes these accidents arise out of negligence by the property owner or occupier. For example, if a convenience store owner fails to provide sufficient security or lighting in a location known for muggings, a mugging by a third party may be more likely. Similarly, if gas is left to pool by the pumps for hours, a customer may be more likely to slip and fall. If you are injured in a gas station or convenience store accident, the Los Angeles premises liability attorneys at Sharifi Firm, APC can assist you.

Gas station and convenience store owners, like others who open their premises for sales, owe a high duty of care to protect customers from undue risks. If someone is injured on their property, negligence must be established. This means the plaintiff will need to prove the owner's duty, the owner's breach of duty, causation, and actual damages. Duty can depend somewhat on the circumstances. For example, a gas station or convenience store owner owes less of a duty to trespassers than to customers.

While they cannot ensure the safety of everyone who comes onto the property, owners and operators of these types of businesses are expected to anticipate foreseeable types of harm. For example, they are expected to be aware that a customer may slip in a restroom with a slippery floor or that equipment with certain damage done to it may result in burns. On the other hand, they are not necessarily expected to know that a truck driver will pull into the gas station while driving drunk and crash into the pumps, igniting them and causing harm to other patrons.

If a foreseeable risk exists, and a gas station or convenience store owner does not repair the dangerous condition or provide warnings, and a customer is hurt, the owner may be liable. In order to establish a premises liability claim, an injured plaintiff will need to prove that the property owner or operator knew or should have known about a particular risk but failed to take steps to fix the problem or put out warnings for customers.

Proving that a gas station or convenience store knew or should have known about a particular risk can be challenging. It only becomes more challenging as time passes. In some cases, there is video surveillance of the premises that can be a powerful tool in a premises liability lawsuit. However, in many cases, videotape is reused, which means that if you wait to contact an attorney, you may lose crucial evidence for your case.

At Sharifi Firm, APC, our Los Angeles lawyers may be able to help you establish liability after a gas station or convenience store accident. We can put our experience, skill, and strong reputation to work for you. For a free consultation, call us at (866) 422-7222 or contact us online. Our injury attorneys also represent people in Temecula, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, and Riverside, among other Southern California cities.