{"id":849280,"date":"2026-01-31T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=849280"},"modified":"2026-01-30T17:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:39:12","slug":"legal-warning-about-shopping-malls-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/849280\/legal-warning-about-shopping-malls-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal warning about shopping malls in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Personal injury claims linked to shopping centres and supermarkets are increasing, with courts placing greater responsibility on property owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to Kirstie Haslam, Specialist Personal Injury Attorney and partner at\u00a0DSC Attorneys, who said many people assume that accidents in malls are just \u2018bad luck\u2019, but the law looks very closely at whether those injuries were preventable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common accidents are slips, trips and falls. These usually happen because of wet floors from cleaning or spillages, uneven or damaged flooring, poor lighting, missing warning signs, or obstacles such as boxes, pallets or stock left in walkways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these incidents may seem minor, they can cause serious injuries, particularly to older shoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More serious injuries are often linked to structural problems. Haslam explained that South African courts have dealt with cases involving collapsing roofs during heavy weather, falling ceiling panels, unsecured fixtures and shattered glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faulty equipment is another major risk, including broken escalators or lifts, automatic doors that malfunction, damaged shopping trolleys and poorly maintained facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shoppers are also injured by falling objects, such as heavy items from high shelves or unstable promotional displays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haslam said that shopping centre owners and occupiers have a legal \u201cduty of care\u201d to protect the public from foreseeable harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This does not mean they must prevent every possible accident, but they are expected to take reasonable steps to manage risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf a shopping centre can show it had proper cleaning systems, regular inspections, clear warning signs and proper maintenance, it may avoid liability,\u201d she said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut if these measures are missing or poorly applied, the risk of legal action increases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To succeed with a personal injury claim, an injured shopper must show that the property owner or occupier was negligent and that this negligence caused the injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courts have repeatedly reinforced this approach in recent cases. In a recent case against Pick n Pay, a shopper slipped on a spillage in a supermarket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt your own risk\u201d is not bulletproof <\/h2>\n\n\n
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Kirstie Haslam, Specialist Personal Injury Attorney and partner at\u00a0DSC Attorneys<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The court found the retailer liable because it could not prove that proper cleaning and monitoring systems were in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate case, a restaurant was held responsible after a customer slipped on a freshly cleaned floor with no warning signs. The court rejected attempts to blame the customer\u2019s footwear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another involved a shopping centre found liable after a shopper slipped on a dew-covered wooden deck, with the court criticising the lack of on-site management at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese cases show that courts expect shopping centres to actively manage safety risks,\u201d Haslam said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many malls rely on disclaimer notices stating that entry is \u201cat your own risk\u201d. However, Haslam warned that these notices offer limited protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a disclaimer to be effective, it must be clearly visible, specific about the risk and shown to have been understood by the injured person. General or hidden disclaimers usually carry little weight in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an accident happens, medical treatment should come first. Haslam advised injured shoppers to report the incident immediately, take photos, note the time and details, collect witness information, ask that CCTV footage be saved and keep all medical records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo not sign any documents or give detailed statements without legal advice,\u201d she warned. Even minor injuries can lead to ongoing medical costs, lost income and long-term problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compensation claims can cover medical expenses, loss of earnings and damages for pain, suffering and reduced quality of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShopping centres are meant to be safe, convenient spaces. When safety measures fail, injured people should not be left to carry the burden alone,\u201d Haslam said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Personal injury claims linked to shopping centres and supermarkets are increasing, with courts placing greater responsibility on property owners.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":849282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[12889,20851,853],"class_list":["post-849280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-dsc-attorneys","tag-shopping-malls","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849280"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849298,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849280\/revisions\/849298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}