Your rights when injured at Hobby Lobby depend upon what state you are in and whether you are an employee or a visitor. In all but one state they are in, injured employees must file through the worker’s compensation system if they are injured on the job at Hobby Lobby. If the injured party is not an employee or works for Hobby Lobby in Texas, they can seek compensation for injuries suffered while at Hobby Lobby if it was caused by the company’s negligence.
Injury Suffered by an Employee at Hobby Lobby
Hobby Lobby has over 1,000 stores and 46,000 employees in the continental United States with their headquarters in Oklahoma City. Of those 48 states they are in, Hobby Lobby provides worker’s compensation coverage to their employees in 47 of them. Thus, if you are in one of the 47 states where they provide worker’s compensation and you are injured as an employee of Hobby Lobby, you must file a worker’s compensation claim. This is true whether you are injured at Hobby Lobby by falling off a ladder, injured by a forklift, or hurt in an industrial truck accident while working in the Hobby Lobby warehouse.
Texas is the only state where worker’s compensation insurance is optional. Hobby Lobby chooses not to provide worker’s compensation coverage in Texas. Instead, if you are injured at Hobby Lobby, you must pursue your injury claim against Hobby Lobby through the civil justice system by way of a work injury claim or, through an alternate benefits plan, if you have one. A Texas work injury lawyer can help you identify what your options are and pursue the correct claim.
Injury Suffered by a Visitor or Shopper at Hobby Lobby
Hobby Lobby is a giant craft store with high shelves and large items stored in a warehouse-like storage fashion. As a store that is open to the public, they are responsible for making the shopping space safe for their customers. Like any other business, Hobby Lobby‘s owners can be held legally responsible for falls, falling objects, and/or other hazards that injure patrons if the company is negligent in allowing the condition to occur.
When is Hobby Lobby Negligent?
Part of the duty imposed upon store owners is the obligation to conduct a reasonable inspection of the property to ensure that it is safe for the invited customers. If a company allows an unreasonably dangerous condition to exist on their property—either knowingly or by failing to conduct reasonable inspections—they are liable when someone is injured by the condition. This applies to spills and leaks that may cause a slip and fall accident, tripping hazards, or even falling items due to overstacking or unsafe storing of items on high shelves. Employees engaging in horseplay or recklessly pushing shopping carts into people are other examples of ways someone can be injured at Hobby Lobby and have a claim as a result of their negligence.
What About Injury Off the Property by Hobby Lobby Employees?
Because Hobby Lobby is so big, they move a lot of products around the country to fill their stores. Many of their workers are driving 18-wheelers and other delivery trucks, and they must exercise the utmost care as common carriers. In addition, they are not allowed to skirt liability for trucks hauling their products by contracting the driving to independent contractors. Delivery truck drivers are statutory employees when they engage in interstate commerce. If you are injured by a truck delivering Hobby Lobby’s goods, you have the right to bring a personal injury claim for your damages against Hobby Lobby.
What Should I Do If I Am Injured at Hobby Lobby?
If you are injured at Hobby Lobby as an employee in Texas or as a customer anywhere, talk to a premises liability lawyer who is familiar with Hobby Lobby claims. Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., is a law firm that handles premise liability cases, car accidents, truck accidents, and other personal injury claims.
Author
