When Can Customers File a Lawsuit Against Businesses?

It is the responsibility of businesses to ensure that their customers are treated with care at all times. If a customer gets mistreated in some way or form and filing a complaint against it has led to nowhere, then justice must served against the business.

Before filing a lawsuit, below are the claims that you as customer can make against an establishment on court.

Personal injury claim

As the injured customer, you need to prove to the court that the business failed to uphold a duty of care for you to have case against it. Your lawsuit will depend on the context of the situation that caused the injury. This is where the premises liability accident come into play.

“As a victim of a premises liability accident, it is important to provide evidence that your injuries were the result of a dangerous situation, such as a wet floor, exposed nails or poorly illuminated steps,” according to personal injury lawyer Daniel A. Gibalevich. “Proving that the property owner was aware of the dangerous situation is essential.”

While most businesses are aware of the responsibility in taking care of their visitors, they can’t be accountable to everything that happens to people in their premises.

For your argument to hold weight in court, you will need expert testimony from a trustworthy witness to prove that negligence on the part of the business was the cause of the injury.

For more information about personal injury claim, read this post from AllLaw.

Breach of contract

If the business with whom you have signed an agreement with failed to meet its contractual obligations, you immediately have grounds for a lawsuit. This can come in the form of poor performance, late completion of work, taking up a competitor as customer (part of a non-compete clause), and others.

The terms of your agreement are defined in your contract. So not all customers can make the same lawsuit.

To keep you safe from any business malpractice while under in contract, learn how to make a legally binding contract by clicking here.

Class action lawsuits

If a business sells you a defective product that put you at a disadvantage, it would be difficult and expensive to file a lawsuit against the establishment. But if there are other people who suffered the same fate as yours using the same product or service, then you can file a lawsuit as a group against the business. Aggregating individualized claims against a guilty business is advantageous because it speeds up the process.

Aside from faulty products, other forms of class action lawsuit include financial (securities fraud, predatory lending), environmental (contamination of public resources), and civil rights.

Final thoughts: Filing a lawsuit can take months or years before coming to a verdict. Before pulling the gun with a lawsuit against the business, try to settle outside the courtroom to minimize the damages that both of you will incur. If necessary, hire a mediator or a neutral third party so you and the business can come up with a compromise that benefits both of you. If and when these options fail, be ready with your lawyer.