Victims Plan to Sue after Explosion at Plantation Shopping Center, but Who Are the Defendants?
In personal injury law, premises liability means that the owner of a property has a legal duty not to endanger people who are on that property. In other words, they must exercise reasonable caution so as to prevent accidental injuries. The biggest responsibility for keeping one’s property safe belongs to business owners; they must follow strict rules about customer safety. Homeowners are also subject to premises liability rules; their property should not be excessively dangerous for guests or even for trespassers. Not every accident that happens at a place of business has the makings of a successful premises liability lawsuit, though. The injured person must be able to present evidence that the property owner could have prevented the accident if they had been more careful. If you were injured in an accident at a place of business and are wondering if a premises liability lawsuit is appropriate, contact a South Florida premises liability lawyer.
The Big Blast on University Drive
Earlier this summer, an explosion at the Market on University shopping center in Plantation left 20 people with injuries serious enough to require hospitalization; all the injured people were discharged from the hospital by mid-July. The site of the explosion was in a pizza restaurant that had been out of business, its space unoccupied, for several months before the blast. The explosion was big enough to shake the entire shopping center, and people in the stores next to the empty restaurant, and even in places farther away from the site of the explosion, were hit by flying debris.
A cause for the explosion has yet to be determined. It may have been the result of a gas leak; police found a broken gas line near the shopping center after the blast, and a representative of TECO People’s Gas said that someone at the shopping center had called to report a gas smell a few hours before the explosion. It is likely that a gas leak caused the blast, but it has not been determined for certain.
Unanswered Questions
If the explosion was due to a gas leak, then do the injured people really have a case against the restaurants, stores, and gyms where residual effects of the blast were felt. Certainly, the restaurant employee who called to report a gas smell was doing his part to try to prevent an accident. Assuming that the retail spaces in the shopping center were in compliance with building codes, what measures do retail store owners have to take to make their stores explosion-proof? The injured people who intend to sue have not yet declared whom they will name as defendants.
Contact Us Today for Assistance.
You always have the option to sue the owner of the property where the accident that caused your injury took place, but you can only win if you have compelling evidence. A personal injury lawyer can help you decide if it is worthwhile to pursue a lawsuit. Contact Palm Beach Gardens premises liability attorneys at Smith, Ball, Báez & Prather Injury Lawyers for a consultation.
