Is a Grocery Store Responsible If Stacked Cans or Boxes Fall on Me?

 Posted on May 21, 2025 in Premises Liability

Grocery stores are full of displays, trying to entice shoppers to purchase specific products. These displays may have cardboard bases or be arranged on metal shelving. Although attractive displays are a great marketing tool, they need to be stable to avoid collapse. Stockers often take pallets stacked with boxes of products onto the sales floor to fill empty shelves while shoppers are present.  Whether from displays or stacked pallets, falling products can injure shoppers.

If boxes, cans, or other grocery store products fall on you and produce injuries, you may wonder if the store is responsible for paying your damages through a premises liability claim. The answer depends on several factors. For the best chance of securing maximum compensation, contact our skilled Mt. Prospect, IL personal injury lawyers as soon as possible after your accident.

What Is Premises Liability for Grocery Stores?

Businesses like grocery stores have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for shoppers. That means floors, sidewalks, and parking lots should be clean and in good repair, the lighting should be sufficient, spills should be addressed promptly, and care should be taken when building displays and stocking shelves.

Slip or trip and fall accidents are common types of premises liability claims. Falling objects, like cases of goods and stacked cans, can also cause injuries. Even if those objects do not strike you directly, they could cause you to fall. Suppose a display of spaghetti sauce in glass jars is built on an endcap with broken shelf brackets. The weight of the jars can cause the shelf to detach, spilling and breaking the jars. Spilled spaghetti sauce can cause shoppers to fall, and the broken glass can cut them.

To hold a grocer liable for your injuries, you need to prove that the store was negligent and that the incident was preventable. Negligence in these cases rests on showing that the store knew or should have known about the danger, had sufficient time to address it, but failed to fix it. Examples include:

• Stacking cans too high without proper support
• Placing displays or boxes of stock  in a walking path
• Leaving unwrapped pallets in store aisles
• Failing to repair weak or damaged shelving units

Not every grocery store accident qualifies you for a premises liability claim. For instance, if another shopper bumps a stable display and causes items to fall on you, that may not be the store’s fault.

It is important to note that some vendors, including large soda companies, often send their own employees into grocery stores to stock their products. If a heavy 12-pack of soda falls from an improperly stacked or otherwise unsafe display and injures you, the vendor could be held liable.

How Can a Lawyer Help If Falling Products Injure Me at a Grocery Store?

The injuries from your accident may have required extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and time away from work. Your quality of life may have also suffered. You may be eligible to receive both economic and non-economic damages, but getting them is not easy.

Your attorney can investigate your accident. With the evidence we find, we can establish fault and liability. We know how to calculate your damages accurately and will fight the insurer to help you collect the highest available amount.

Discuss Your Case With Our Respected Schaumburg, IL Premises Liability Lawyers

When you are hurt because of preventable unsafe conditions in a grocery store, our experienced DuPage County, IL personal injury attorneys can help you obtain as much compensation as you deserve. To schedule your free consultation, contact Grauer & Kriegel, LLC online or at 847-240-9010.