How Falling Merchandise Injuries Happen
Retail stores in Shreveport stock thousands of products on shelves, overhead racks, and display units. When employees stack items improperly or overload shelving beyond its weight capacity, those products can fall onto customers below. Big box stores, hardware stores, grocery stores, and warehouse retailers all present this risk.
Common scenarios include heavy items placed on high shelves without restraints, merchandise stacked past the shelf edge, pallets of goods stored overhead in warehouse style stores, and unstable product displays in aisles. Canned goods, appliances, lumber, paint cans, and boxed electronics are frequent sources of falling merchandise injuries.
The injuries from these incidents are often serious. A case of canned goods falling from an upper shelf can cause traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, or concussions. Heavy items striking the neck or back can result in herniated discs, cervical fractures, or spinal cord damage. Broken bones in the shoulders, arms, and hands are common when a person tries to block falling objects. Lacerations, soft tissue damage, and crush injuries also occur regularly in these cases.
Louisiana Premises Liability Law
Louisiana law requires property owners and occupiers to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. Under La. C.C. art. 2317, a person is responsible for damage caused by things in their custody. La. C.C. art. 2317.1 specifies that the owner or custodian of a thing is liable for damage only upon proof that the thing was in the owner's custody, the thing had a defect that created an unreasonable risk of harm, the owner knew or should have known of the defect, and the damage resulted from that defect.
In a falling merchandise case, the "thing" in the store's custody is the product and the shelving system holding it. A defect exists when merchandise is stacked in an unstable manner, when shelving units are overloaded beyond their rated capacity, or when products are placed without proper restraints. The store must maintain reasonable control over how products are stored and displayed throughout the premises.
Louisiana courts apply a duty of reasonable care standard. The store does not guarantee customer safety. However, the store must take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable hazards. Merchandise that is stacked too high, placed without securing methods, or loaded onto damaged shelving creates a foreseeable risk that Louisiana law requires the store to address.
The Merchant Liability Statute
Louisiana has a specific statute governing merchant liability. La. R.S. 9:2800.6 applies to claims against merchants for injuries caused by conditions on the premises. This statute requires the injured person to prove three elements. First, the condition on the premises presented an unreasonable risk of harm. Second, the merchant created the condition or had actual or constructive notice of the condition before the injury. Third, the merchant failed to exercise reasonable care.
Constructive notice means the condition existed for a long enough period that the merchant should have discovered it through reasonable inspection. In falling merchandise cases, this element often focuses on how long the dangerous stacking condition existed. If employees created the hazard by improperly loading a shelf during a restocking shift, the store has direct knowledge because its own workers caused the condition.
La. R.S. 9:2800.6 also states that the injured person must prove that the merchant failed to exercise reasonable care. A store that has no written stacking protocols, conducts no shelf inspections, provides no employee training on safe stacking practices, or ignores manufacturer weight limits for shelving units may fail to meet this standard.
Evidence That Matters in These Cases
Building a falling merchandise claim requires specific evidence. Surveillance camera footage is often the single most valuable piece of evidence. Most retail stores have interior camera systems that record activity in aisles and storage areas. This footage can show the moment of the incident, how the merchandise was arranged before it fell, and whether employees were nearby.
Incident reports filed by store management document the store's own account of what happened. Louisiana law does not require stores to create these reports, but most large retailers have corporate policies requiring written documentation after a customer injury. These reports often contain statements from employees and managers that can establish what the store knew about the condition.
Prior complaints and incident history at the same location are relevant. If other customers reported falling merchandise from the same shelf or aisle, that history demonstrates the store had notice of a recurring problem. Employee testimony about stacking practices, restocking schedules, and inspection routines can reveal whether the store followed its own safety procedures.
Store policies and training manuals set the store's own standard of care. Many national retailers have specific guidelines for maximum stacking heights, weight limits per shelf, and required use of restraints for overhead storage. When a store violates its own protocols, that evidence supports a finding of negligence. Photographs of the scene, the fallen merchandise, and the shelving unit taken as soon as possible after the incident preserve physical evidence that may otherwise be cleaned up or rearranged.
Filing Deadlines and Comparative Fault
Louisiana imposes strict filing deadlines for personal injury claims. For injuries occurring before July 1, 2024, the prescriptive period under La. C.C. art. 3492 is one year from the date of the injury. For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, the prescriptive period is two years. Missing this deadline bars the claim entirely regardless of how strong the evidence is.
Louisiana applies a comparative fault system. If the injured person is found partially at fault, their recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault. For accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana applies a 51% bar under the amended comparative fault statute. This means that a person who is 51% or more at fault cannot recover any damages.
In falling merchandise cases, stores frequently argue that the customer caused or contributed to the injury. Common defenses include claims that the customer pulled an item from the bottom of a stack, leaned on unstable shelving, ignored warning signs, or was not paying attention. An investigation that documents the actual stacking conditions and the customer's actions at the time of the incident is essential to counter these defenses.
Preserving evidence early is critical. Stores routinely overwrite surveillance footage on short cycles, sometimes within 30 days. A written preservation demand sent to the store promptly after the injury can prevent the destruction of video evidence. Medical records linking the specific injuries to the falling merchandise incident should also be gathered as soon as treatment begins.