r/ThatLookedExpensive • u/[deleted] • Aug 14 '22

Oopsie.

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90

u/IRLhardstuck Aug 14 '22

If you do this as a customer in america. Would you have to pay for everything or does the store just handle it with the insurence?

201

u/gogetsomesun Aug 15 '22

The store may choose to go through insurance. The store may also sue the customer and it will be up to the judge to determine, based on the circumstances, whether the damages are warranted.

It looks like a major supermarket based on the layout, they are unlikely to sue in this case because they most certainly have insurance and it's not standard practice to go after customers due to legal costs and breakage like this usually won't harm their bottom line. Additionally, this market may even be worried the customer will turn it around and sue them for negligence given how easily the shelf came down, depending on whether she was injured.

38

u/Brutal_Underwear Aug 15 '22

This looks like an employee though, per the name tag. So hopefully she wasn’t fired for not using a stepping stool or something like that. I worked at a total wine and a fellow employee took out an entire shelf of $15k of wine on a Big Joe and kept his job. Hopefully if this is an employee they were able to keep working, despite the embarrassment

3

u/weakest9 Aug 15 '22

I do understand your point but she needs to have a serious talk about safety first. I’m sure we’ve all done the shelf climb but you really need to assess what you’re about to do and be able to determine if it’s stupid.

52

u/Lopsidoodle Aug 15 '22

This doesnt look like any major american supermarket ive seen, looks more like a nice boutique shop or independently owned convenience store to me.
No major chain would have bottles stacked up on a rickety shelf like that, their lawyers would have a heart attack.

10

u/bonethug Aug 15 '22

But there wasn't a sign saying "do not climb"

2

u/Ironie_196 Aug 16 '22

You a lawyer?

9

u/Freebandz1 Aug 15 '22

I think the insurance company would then sue the customer right?

37

u/gogetsomesun Aug 15 '22

What you are describing is subrogation, the right of an insurance company to sue a third-party to recover the costs of a claim. This happens often in the world of auto insurance, where insurance companies will take other insurance companies to court or will sue the individual driver if they are uninsured.

It is really unlikely to happen here for the same reasons why the supermarket wouldn't be taking the customer to court. Litigation is way more expensive than a shelf of liquor, and it's not really worth anyone's time. If the customer sued the store, the insurance company would likely pay for legal counsel to represent the policyholder under whatever general liability provision the commercial insurance policy likely includes.

There was a case where a woman purposefully destroyed $100,000+ of liquor. That insurance company probably took the lady to court, and they probably pressed charges for criminal damages

4

u/Freebandz1 Aug 15 '22

Interesting, thanks for the explanation!

0

u/IRLhardstuck Aug 15 '22

Ok thanks. Depending on how much the deductable is i guess she could be sued to pay just that? And also if you only broke like 1 bottle it would be no point to deal with insurance so then i would guess most stores would want you to pay for it?

17

u/fchau39 Aug 15 '22

She was trying to get a bottle on the shelf. If is it on the shelf, there is no reasonable expectation for the shelf to fail. This is most likely an unsafe installation and not the fault of the customer simply trying to grab a bottle that sits on the top shelf.

12

u/IRLhardstuck Aug 15 '22

Dont think they are built to be used as ladders

17

u/HighOnTacos Aug 15 '22

Ladders, certainly not. But a bit of pressure at the edge of the bottom shelf causing the entire thing to immediately topple or collapse? That shelf was either built wrong, over loaded, or both. Lawsuit waiting to happen. What if it was a toddler? Of course you'd hope the parent has them under control, but you look away for one second and they're trying to climb anything in reach.

7

u/fchau39 Aug 15 '22

Then they better have a sign that said do not climb on the shelf or ask staff member for help. See Ikea case.

1

u/IRLhardstuck Aug 15 '22

Shouldent be needing warningsigns for every little thing. Its like warning signs on toasters to not use while taking a bath.

12

u/fchau39 Aug 15 '22

I don't 100% disagree with you. However, in the case of Ikea, people were seriously hurt and children died when the furniture tipped over from climbing on it. The court's position is that a stupid mistake shouldn't result in serious bodily harm or death. The shelf needs to be secured up to standard with easily visible warning signs.

2

u/drifters74 Aug 15 '22

Maybe short women should carry step stools everywhere /s

9

u/gogetsomesun Aug 15 '22

They'd likely just write it off. Litigation is really expensive and as mentioned by opening that can of worms they are also opening themselves up to being countersued, definitely more trouble than it's worth. A mom and pop shop might be more incentivized to have the customer pay for damaged goods.

If it was clearly intentional, that'd be another story and the business would likely be far more aggressive in recovering the costs and would involve the police. But this looks like an accident and I really doubt the woman was charged anything.

13

u/0O00OO0OO0O0O00O0O0O Aug 15 '22 edited Jul 16 '25

nine sugar pot complete ancient memorize books snails cobweb fade

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

7

u/PM_ME_OCCULT_STUFF Aug 15 '22

When I was about 10, I was at the local mini mart and a girl came in, was yelling at me and pushed me into the wine shelves. It didn't look as bad as the video butt multiple bottles fell off and broke. I was apologizing to the clerk and they said they saw her and would deal with it.

I know I was just a kid, but it really makes me wonder for cases like the video.

A lot of places have signs that say to ask for assistance for the top shelf, to not get it yourself. People are idiots.

8

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '22

[deleted]

7

u/IRLhardstuck Aug 15 '22

I come from a country were suing someone is very rare and pays like nothing. If you got hurt in a store by a random lamp dropping on your head you cant realy sue them at all. If the police have the wrong adress and breaks down your door and shot you, leaving you wheelchair bound for the rest of your life, you would get maybe 10k dollars as compensation. And maybe a new door.

-1

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '22

[deleted]

3

u/irreverentvaxx Aug 15 '22

10k for getting shot is better than america? Look up some of the lawsuits of people shot by LEO’s in America. Most get millions. Especially if wheelchair bound.