Can a store be sued for selling dangerous shoes?
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Can a store be sued for selling dangerous shoes?
My mother recently fell resulting in a broken ankle which required surgery. After talking about the injury it turns out she had just purchased a pair of flip flops from a national retail chain which was the reason she slipped in the grass and fell. I think the shoes are too dangerous if someone can so easily slip and fall to hurt themselves this badly. Is there anything that could be done towards the store or the manufacturer of these shoes?
Asked on August 20, 2011 Wisconsin
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
IF the product were designed or manufactured defectively, then it may be possible to sue the retailer, the distributor, and/or the manufacturer. However, it is not at all clear that flip flops would be dangerous simply because they are flip flops--flip flops are, after all, one of the most common type of shoes, worn by millions without incident. The fact that you mother slipped does not, by itself, prove that the shoes were dangerous--especially since your mother was walking on grass, which is more slippery. If you think there was a design or manufacturing defect, you could bring them to a personal injury attorney, to see if he or she agrees that there is a defect; I suspect strongly that the attorney will not, unless these shoes broke easily or had some other specific defect.
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