When a customer enters any place of business, it is usually to consider the goods or services offered for sale. Suppose Susie enters Trudy's Exotic Emporium, a store offering many unique and some exotic products. Walking down an aisle she slips and falls, injuring herself. Is the owner of the business liable to her for the injuries she has sustained?
The answer to this depends upon several considerations. First, simply because an injury has occurred does not automatically make the store liable, or at least fully liable. Legally, the concept of absolute liability will not usually apply. Absolute liability is a situation where just because an injury or loss occurred, a party is simply held liable for the loss of another. These types of situations are somewhat rare and often apply when a defendant has been engaged in an ultra-hazardous activity.
In the scenario here, any liability placed upon the store for the injury to the customer would normally be predicated upon the concept of negligence on the part of the business. During the first year of law school, most students are exposed to the somewhat strange world of tort law and the discussion of when one party should be liable for injury or loss to another.
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