Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Shoplifting, personal injury

[STaylor]

I was arrested for attempting to shoplift two television-on-dvd sets, under $50 worth of merchandise. I was 17 years old at the time, about 15 months ago. The manager caught on, came over and asked what I had in my jacket. When I told him nothing, he hit me in the stomach, dropping the dvds to the ground. He called to the other employee to lock the door and call the police. I have admitted that I tried running. The store manager wrestled me, threw me into shelves, and then kneeled on my chest. When I told him I couldn't breathe, he said "bull****". The police arrived and I cooperated. They asked if there was a video of what happened, and the manager told them there wasn't, even though there were numerous cameras around the shop. The police took me to the juvenile detention center. Shortly after, I had a severe tightness in my chest, couldn't breathe, and an ambulance came to take me to the hospital. After a few hours there, I was told I had a punctured lung, not too serious, but serious enough. I was taken back to the detention center where I was released into the care of my neighbor, the only person over twenty one I could have come get me out (I moved to Colorado with my girlfriend, and have recently moved back to the east coast). I was given one year probation (suspended after about 8 months), 10 hours of community service, $152 restitution, an "anti-theft class" (which my probation officer eventually said I didn't need to attend), on top of my medical bills which my father has paid for. I have talked to one lawyer, and what he told me was I had a case of excessive force against the shop manager. I have tried several times to get back in touch with him, and he never called back. My mother even left him a phone message, and still no call back. I still have chest pains and shortness of breath on my left side several times weekly. My question is has too much time passed for me to do anything about this? And if not, are there lawyers who could help me free of charge? I am currently unemployed. I have also moved back across the country and was wondering if I would need to return to Colorado to pursue this, if it turned out there is anything I could do. Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[mightymoose]

If the store owner's actions are documented in the report as you describe here then you might be able to make a civil case against him to pay for your hospital bills.
When he initially punched you in the stomach he as crossing the line, however his effort to restrain you while the police were called is not necessarily so.
Anyway, if it isn't already in the reports then you will have a tough time providing any evidence to support your claim. You are also unlikely to find an attorney for free. Any amount you might win from the store in court would mostly go to the lawyer, not your bills.

So yes, you could probably bring a claim, but it doesn't look like you have much of a chance of getting anything from it.

 

[army judge]

Sorry, Moose, but there is still hope for this unfortunate lad.

Yes, you can still bring this lawsuit.
You don't need to pay an attorney.
A personal injury attorney will take a case like this on a contingency.
For instance, the lawyer will represent you for a percentage of your potential award.
This is usually about 33%.
If you get nothing, he takes nothing, too.
So, you see why an attorney would work to help you win.

You have two years to bring such an action.
You still have time to pursue this.
You don't have to return to Colorado to start this case.
You might have to go back at some point, if there is a trial.
Most cases like this are settled out of court.
Your lawyer will tell you the what, when, and where of this matter.
You just need to get busy looking on the ineternet and finding a lawyer.
This website has links to start such searches.
Don't quit, just get busy doing what you have to do!!!

Proving Colorado Negligence

Generally speaking, in order to succeed with a Colorado personal injury claim you must prove the at fault party was negligent. To prove Colorado negligence you must show:

* The person who caused your injury owed you a responsibility, otherwise known as a 'duty'. For example, in a car accident lawsuit, the at fault driver had a duty to all other drivers and pedestrians to drive safely.
* The person failed to carry out that responsibility or duty. You must prove that what the person did to cause your injury was reckless or negligent.
* You must prove you were harmed or in other words suffered 'damages'. Damages are not limited to physical injuries (see below.) Rather, they can include mental or emotional injury, lost wages, pain and suffering, current and future medical bills and more.
* The other person's failure to carry out the duty they owed caused your injury. For example, if you are injured at an amusement park and you are injured on a faulty ride, you must prove the the ride's defects were mainly responsible for your injury as opposed to your own recklessness.

If you cannot support all four of these with evidence you will not be able to succeed with your claim. However, if your own lack of caution played a role in your injury you may still be able to recover under Colorado comparative negligence law. Comparative negligence assigns a degree of fault after a personal injury settlement is reached and works on percentage basis (if you are assigned 15% fault you will receive 85% of the settlement.)You may not recover if you were 50% or more at fault.

Damages

As stated above, it is not only physical injury that will play a role in a Colorado personal injury settlement. Any harm caused by the accident in question can play a role in the ammount of a settlment. These harms are known as damages and they most commonly include:

* Current and future medical bills
* Lost wages
* Pain and suffering
* Permanent scars
* Emotional trauma
* Mental anguish
* Loss of employment
* Loss of love
* Metal Disability
* Property Damage
* Any out of pocket expenses caused by your injury

Regardless of the harm another has caused you, Colorado personal injury laws have restraints that will not always allow the filing of a lawsuit. Most commonly, time restraints in the law known as the statutes of limitations keep injured people from filing a claim.
Statutes of Limitations (SOL)

Generally speaking, you have 2 years to file a personal injury claim in Colorado under the statutes of limitations. However, there are some exceptions in the SOL that can give you more or less time to file a claim. These exceptions can get very complex, which is why any potential personal injury claim should be gone over with a lawyer as soon as possible. To make things easier on your lawyer and also give yourself best shot at winning a settlement there are some things you can do to preserve your claim.

http://personalinjurydirectory.net/2009/11/the-basics-of-colorado-personal-injury-claims/

 

[STaylor]

Wow, that was an extremely quick response. I was expecting it to take a while. Thank you so much, this is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[mightymoose]

Without some evidence to support what you claim the store owner did well over a year ago, don't get your hopes up too high. All he has to say is "No I didn't". You were the one that was caught in a criminal act. You will need something more than your say-so to hold him accountable.

 

[army judge]

Without some evidence to support what you claim the store owner did well over a year ago, don't get your hopes up too high. All he has to say is "No I didn't". You were the one that was caught in a criminal act. You will need something more than your say-so to hold him accountable.

He has the hospital and paramedic report.

The folks at the jail got his injuries treated.

He has a prima facie case for a battery.

 

[mightymoose]

What he doesn't have is proof of how those injuries occurred. He says the store owner struck him- is that reflected in the report anywhere other than his own statements? Were the injuries a result of him being restrained when he attempted to flee once he was caught? We already know there is no video... the odds of him being able to prove the injuries were a result of excessive force (being punched) rather than a result of his own efforts to flee are pretty slim.
It is a year and a half ago already. He is unlikely to get any new information. This should have been addressed a long time ago.

Besides that, although legally permissible, it is completely immoral and flat out wrong to try and get compensation from someone for injuries that he received as a result of his own criminal actions. He's lucky the guy didn't have a bat.

Count your blessings that your injuries were not more severe, quit being a crook, and get on with your life.

 

[army judge]

Moose, we disagree.

You and others may think it to wrong, but I assure you, that is left for a jury to decide.

He may have been committing a criminal act, but that doesn't give the aggrieved party license to use excessive force.

As a California LEO, you should be intimately familiar with that concept.


California is one of the foremost opponents against the use of excessive force.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jacksgal]

My husband once uncovered an abusive LP team (not his) and worked with that retailers coporate office to solve problem. They were gang tackling, hitting etc suspects without any warnning and before iding themselves. The LPM and one other was fired and others received negatives in their files. This is a big reason some retailers have gone to hands off policies. It only takes one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch. I can assure you that hitting likely does not fall into "reasonable force"! Sadly there are many in the LP field who think its fun to pummel suspects. Look at some of the Lp forums you will see the bragging.

 

[mightymoose]

Had he not been caught stealing then he would have a better argument to make. I suppose to be fair I should say he has a very weak argument rather than none at all.
I highly doubt he has any evidence to support how he received his injuries... whether it be excessive force by the store owner or even reasonable force. His assertion that the store owner is responsible won't go far unless there is documentation of some kind of excessive force in the reports.
For all we know, he got his butt kicked five times since then. No telling where the injuries are from.

 

[irish223]

I have no opinion one way or the other since I know little about this area of law. However, I wonder if the information below, from the quotes above, would affect his ability to recover any damages. It seems that he would bear some fault for his injuries due to his attempted theft, attempt to flee, and wrestling with the store manager.

Or maybe not??

However, if your own lack of caution played a role in your injury you may still be able to recover under Colorado comparative negligence law. Comparative negligence assigns a degree of fault after a personal injury settlement is reached and works on percentage basis (if you are assigned 15% fault you will receive 85% of the settlement.)You may not recover if you were 50% or more at fault.

 

[army judge]

I have no opinion one way or the other since I know little about this area of law. However, I wonder if the information below, from the quotes above, would affect his ability to recover any damages. It seems that he would bear some fault for his injuries due to his attempted theft, attempt to flee, and wrestling with the store manager.

Or maybe not??

You are absolutely homing in on point (in this case CO law) like a laser beam.

Colorado uses comparative negligence.

In this person's case, if they are found to be at least 50% responsible for their injuries, they can't prevail.

Comparative negligence is one way some state legislature's have chosen to bring about tort reform.

According to Colorado law, this offense is no more than a Class 2 misdemeanor.
The merchant is not allwed to use excessive force or cause undue harm to someone who
is alleged to have shoplifted items of little value.
From the OP's perspective, the force was excessive.
Was it?
That is a question of fact of a civil jury to ultimately decide.
$ Value Criminal Class - Sentence
0.01-499.99 Class 2 Misdemeanor
500-999.99 Class 1 Misdemeanor
1-19,999.99 Class 4 Felony
20k & > Class 3 Felony

A storeowner or someone who works for the owner generally has the right to detain a person they suspect of shoplifting in order to investigate the possible crime. This can happen inside or immediately outside the store. This investigation must take place in a reasonable amount of time. Generally, the owner or employee can't look inside the person's bag without permission, unless they actually saw the person steal something, or the item is in plain view. If this were not the case, the store would either have to let the person go or call the police to conduct any further investigation.

The owner or employee can't loudly accuse the suspect in front of other customers and must not be rude or offensive during questioning. If the storeowner was mistaken, the owner can be exposed to a civil liability for defamation and emotional distress, so there is a substantial risk in accusing someone of shoplifting publicly.

http://guides.gottrouble.com/The_Crime_of_Shoplifting_Colorado-r1205540-Colorado.html