What to do if my husband was assaulted inside a store by a man he had honked at in the parking lot just minutes before?
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What to do if my husband was assaulted inside a store by a man he had honked at in the parking lot just minutes before?
The store employees let both men walk out of the store without calling the police, therefore the guy got away. My husband was sent to the hospital with 2 fractured ribs and a punctured lung. If the store isn’t legally responsible for keeping it’s customers safe and the guy got away because the one employee who saw everything admitted he had no idea what to do, does the the financial responsibility for his hosptial charges soley fall on us?
Asked on May 22, 2013 under Personal Injury, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
The store is not responsible for the criminal actions of third-parties, like the man who assaulted your husband, any more than you would be responsible if at a dinner party at your house, one guest suddenly attached another. Also, no person or business is obligated by law to call the police or try to restrain attackers. Therefore yes--unless you can identify and sue the person who attacked your husband, the financial burden does, unfortunately, fall on you.
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