Target Slip and Fall and Falling Merchandise Injuries in Washington

What to do after a fall at Target

• Report the fall to a manager before you leave and ask for the incident report number.
• Photograph what you fell on, the area, any warning sign (or the lack of one) and your shoes and injuries.
• Get names and phone numbers of witnesses.
• Get medical care the same day and keep every record.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the store’s insurance company or sign anything before talking to a lawyer.
• Call a lawyer quickly so the store is asked in writing to keep the video.

What you have to prove in Washington

Washington applies the Restatement rule to store customers: the store is responsible for a dangerous condition it knew about or would have discovered with reasonable care, if it failed to use reasonable care to protect customers (Tincani v. Inland Empire Zoological Soc’y, 124 Wn.2d 121, 138 (1994)). As a general rule the customer must show the store had actual or constructive notice of a condition it did not create (Pimentel v. Roundup Co., 100 Wn.2d 39, 49 (1983)).

There is an exception: when the nature of the business and the way the store operates make the hazard reasonably foreseeable, the customer does not have to prove notice (Pimentel, at 49-50). In 2021 the Washington Supreme Court held that this exception is not limited to self-service areas (Johnson v. Wash. State Liquor & Cannabis Bd., 197 Wn.2d 605 (2021)), and in 2025 it held that a Lowe’s customer hit by bulky rolls of fencing stocked on high self-service shelves had raised a fact question under the exception, relying in part on Lowe’s own safety-walk policy (Galassi v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, No. 102410-0).

How long you have

Generally three years from the fall to file a lawsuit (RCW 4.16.080(2)). Washington uses comparative fault: your own share of fault reduces your recovery but generally does not bar it (RCW 4.22.005). Attorney Michael Shemtoub is licensed in Washington.

The evidence that disappears first

• Surveillance video of the aisle, the entrance or the parking lot, from before and after the fall.
• The incident report the manager filled out and any photos employees took.
• Floor inspection, “safety sweep” or “safety walk” records for that area and that day.
• Spill and cleanup records, and the name of the employee responsible for the area.
• For falling merchandise: how the product was stacked, the shelf height, and any stocking or overhead-storage policy.
• Names of employees and other customers who saw it.

How a store injury case works

1. Free review. We listen, look at your photos and the incident report number, and tell you whether there is a case.
2. Preservation. A written demand goes to the store and its insurer to keep the video, the incident report, the sweep or safety-walk logs and the names of employees on duty.
3. Medical care and records. We collect your records and bills; the amount and type of care drive the value of the claim.
4. The claim. Large retailers handle injury claims through their own claims staff or a claims administrator. Many cases resolve at this stage.
5. The lawsuit. If the claim does not resolve, we file. Expect the company to try to move the case to federal court, and expect a fight over where it belongs.
6. Discovery. We get the store’s written safety, inspection and stocking policies and question its person most knowledgeable about them under oath, then compare what the policy required with what happened that day.
7. Mediation or trial. Most cases settle; the ones that don’t are tried to a jury.

What you can recover

You can recover your medical bills (past and future), lost earnings and lost ability to earn, and compensation for pain, physical limits and loss of enjoyment of life. Common injuries in store falls include broken wrists and hips, knee and shoulder tears, back and neck injuries and head injuries; older shoppers are often hurt worse by the same fall.

Washington has no general cap on non-economic damages; the state Supreme Court struck down the old statutory cap (Sofie v. Fibreboard Corp., 112 Wn.2d 636 (1989)). Punitive damages are not available under Washington law unless a statute allows them (Dailey v. North Coast Life Ins. Co., 129 Wn.2d 572 (1996)).

Falls in the parking lot or on the sidewalk

Falls in the parking lot or on the sidewalk outside are handled differently. The store may not control the lot: a shopping-center landlord or a property manager often does, and a city or county may own the sidewalk, which brings shorter claim deadlines for a public entity. Photograph the spot and note the exact location so the right owner can be identified.

Real store-injury cases from Washington

These are other people’s cases, taken from public federal court records, not Beverly Law cases. The descriptions are the shoppers’ allegations and what the courts decided; an allegation is not proof.

What these cases show:

• A Washington store’s company is still a citizen of its home state, so it can move a case even when the store is local.
• Falling merchandise and items dropped by employees are common, and many of these cases settle.
• Washington lets a shopper skip proof of notice when the way the store operates made the hazard foreseeable.

Why your case may end up in federal court

Target Corporation is incorporated in Minnesota with its principal executive offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to its annual report. Because the company is not a citizen of Washington, it can move an injury case from state court to federal court when the case is worth more than $75,000 (28 U.S.C. 1332; 28 U.S.C. 1441). CourtListener’s free federal docket archive shows at least 11 personal-injury lawsuits against Target companies in Washington federal courts from January 2021 through October 2026, and at least 100% of them list removal from state court (CourtListener). Most of those we read were customer falls and falling-merchandise injuries.

The company has 30 days after formal service of the complaint to remove the case (28 U.S.C. 1446(b); Murphy Bros. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, 526 U.S. 344 (1999)), and a case can be sent back to state court on a timely motion or when the federal court lacks jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. 1447(c)). If, after removal, a plaintiff asks to add a local defendant such as a store manager, the court may deny it or allow it and send the case back (28 U.S.C. 1447(e)). Where and how the case is filed is a decision to make with a lawyer before the complaint goes out.

Find your store

City pages with every big-box store in town: Bellevue · Bellingham · Bonney Lake · Everett · Federal Way · Issaquah · Kennewick · Kent · Lacey · Lakewood · Lynnwood · Marysville · Olympia · Puyallup · Renton · Richland · Seattle · Silverdale · Spokane · Tacoma · Tukwila · Vancouver · Wenatchee · Yakima

Who handles your case

Michael Shemtoub founded Beverly Law in 2008 and has been licensed to practice law in California since 2007; he is also licensed in Washington. He earned his law degree at UC Hastings, is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California, and has tried cases to verdict. The firm handles premises cases against national retailers in state and federal court.

Common questions

Related pages

Walmart Washington · The Home Depot Washington · Lowe’s Washington · Target California · Target Texas · Washington

Important: This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Beverly Law is not affiliated with Walmart, Target, The Home Depot or Lowe’s; store names are used only to identify where an injury happened. Store locations come from each retailer’s online store directory (Target, The Home Depot, Lowe’s) and from OpenStreetMap (Walmart, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), checked November 2026; confirm a store’s address with the retailer. Federal court counts are a floor from CourtListener’s RECAP archive, which does not hold every docket. Last reviewed: November 3, 2026.