Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, and grocery and big-box retailers across Long Island owe every customer who walks through their doors a legal duty of care. When that duty is broken — through a wet floor left unmarked, merchandise stacked unsafely, or hazardous chemicals mishandled on the sales floor — and a customer gets hurt, New York law gives that customer the right to seek compensation.

Retail store accidents are more common than most people realize, and they range from routine slip-and-falls to serious chemical exposure incidents. If you were hurt while shopping at a Home Depot, another home-improvement retailer, or any store on Long Island, here is what the law says about your case. A Long Island, NY personal injury lawyer can investigate whether a retailer failed to maintain reasonably safe premises, preserve important evidence, and help injured customers pursue compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages resulting from a retail store accident.

The Legal Duty Retailers Owe Their Customers

Under New York law, a store owner or operator has a duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition for customers. This principle was established by the New York Court of Appeals in Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976), which eliminated the old distinctions between “invitees,” “licensees,” and “trespassers” and replaced them with a single standard: reasonable care under the circumstances.

For a retailer to be held liable, an injured customer generally must show:

The store had actual notice of a hazardous condition (it knew, or an employee created it), OR
The store had constructive notice — the hazard existed long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it. See Gordon v. American Museum of Natural History, 67 N.Y.2d 836 (1986).
The retailer failed to correct the hazard or warn customers within a reasonable time, and
That failure directly caused the customer’s injury.

Common Types of Home Depot and Retail Store Accidents

Slip-and-falls from spilled liquids, tracked-in rain or snow, or freshly mopped floors without warning signs
Falling merchandise from improperly stacked shelving or overhead storage — common in home-improvement warehouses with high shelving
Forklift and pallet-jack accidents in aisles shared with customers
Chemical exposure and hazardous material spills, including improperly stored or mixed cleaning products, solvents, or paint chemicals
Defective or malfunctioning shopping carts and lift equipment
Inadequate lighting or security in parking lots leading to trip-and-fall or premises-security incidents

Chemical and Hazardous Material Exposure in Retail Stores

Home improvement retailers stock and sell industrial strength cleaning products, solvents, and chemicals in high volume. Under New York’s General Business Law and OSHA hazard communication standards incorporated into New York workplace and public safety practice, retailers have an obligation to store hazardous materials safely, separate incompatible chemicals, and train staff to prevent accidental mixing or spillage. OSHA recently released data covering more than 890,000 workplace injuries and illnesses reported by more than 91,000 workplaces for calendar year 2023, underscoring the importance of proper hazardous material handling and employee safety procedures. Although OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard primarily protects workers, the same handling, storage, and spill prevention practices can also help protect customers from preventable exposure incidents. When a chemical spill or exposure incident sickens or injures customers, the retailer’s handling and storage practices, not just the immediate cleanup, become central to a negligence claim.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim? New York’s Statute of Limitations

In New York, personal injury claims — including retail store and premises liability claims — generally must be filed within three years of the date of injury, under CPLR § 214(5). Claims against government-owned or -operated properties carry shorter notice deadlines (often 90 days), so prompt legal consultation matters even more when a public entity is involved.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Store

Report the incident to store management immediately and request a written incident report
Photograph the hazard, your injuries, and the surrounding area before conditions change
Get names and contact information for any witnesses
Seek medical attention promptly, even if injuries seem minor — chemical exposure symptoms in particular can worsen over hours
Keep all medical records, receipts, and correspondence with the store or its insurer
Avoid giving a recorded statement to the retailer’s insurance company before speaking with an attorney

Why Long Island Shoppers Choose Us

Our firm represents injured shoppers throughout Brooklyn and Long Island in claims against national retailers and local store owners alike. We investigate the full picture — store maintenance logs, employee training records, and prior complaint history — to build claims that hold retailers accountable for the conditions they allow on their premises.

If you were injured at a Home Depot or any other store in New York, contact Rosenberg & Rodriguez Personal Injury Lawyers for a free, confidential consultation.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.