Your Rights After a Store Injury in New Mexico
When you are hurt shopping, it is fair to wonder whether the store could have prevented it. Stores owe the customers they invite in a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe, and when they fall short, you may have the right to hold them accountable.
What stores are responsible for
A store must keep its floors, aisles, and displays reasonably safe — cleaning up spills, securing merchandise, keeping aisles clear, and inspecting for hazards. When it creates a hazard, or knew or should have known about one and failed to address it, the store may be responsible for the harm.
The evidence is controlled by the store
Surveillance footage, sweep and inspection logs, and the incident report are usually the key evidence — and the store controls them and can lose or overwrite them quickly. Reporting the injury and getting help early, so this evidence can be preserved, is critical.
How we help
We move quickly to preserve the footage and records, work to show the store's notice, and pursue the claim. The review is free and confidential. Se habla español.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I sue a store for getting hurt while shopping?
Yes, where the store created a hazard or knew or should have known about one and failed to fix or warn of it. The store's footage and cleaning logs are usually key, so preserving them quickly matters.
The store had me fill out an incident report. Is that enough?
It is a start, but the store's own report is not the full picture. The footage, sweep logs, and independent evidence matter, and it is wise to get advice before relying on how the store documented it.
New Mexico law — what people ask
How long do I have to file an injury claim in New Mexico?
Generally three years — longer than California or Arizona allow. But if a government entity is involved, the Tort Claims Act requires written notice within 90 days, which is the shortest deadline in New Mexico injury law and can pass while someone is still in hospital.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault in New Mexico?
Yes. New Mexico follows pure comparative negligence, so your share of fault reduces the recovery rather than barring it, with no cutoff percentage. The rule came from the state’s courts rather than its legislature.
Does New Mexico cap what I can recover?
It depends entirely on who caused the harm, and this is where New Mexico is genuinely different. An ordinary injury claim is not capped. Medical-malpractice claims run into a tiered cap under the Medical Malpractice Act, and claims against government entities run into separate Tort Claims Act limits. Three regimes, three answers.
What if more than one party was responsible?
New Mexico largely does away with joint and several liability, so each defendant is generally responsible for its own share. There are meaningful exceptions — intentional torts, vicarious liability, and products in the stream of commerce among them.
The driver who hit me had no insurance. What now?
This happens more here than in most states. Your own uninsured or underinsured coverage is the route, and New Mexico courts have been comparatively protective of policyholders on stacking — combining the limits of more than one policy or vehicle where premiums were paid for each.
Is a medical claim treated differently in New Mexico?
Substantially. Claims against providers qualified under the Medical Malpractice Act pass through a review commission before suit, are governed by a statute of repose rather than an ordinary limitations period, and are subject to the tiered caps with a compensation fund behind them.
Injury law in New Mexico
New Mexico injury law gives families a longer window and some distinctive rules.
- Filing deadline: New Mexico gives you longer than most states — generally three years from the injury — with a 90-day notice deadline when a government entity is involved.
- Fault: New Mexico follows pure comparative negligence, so sharing some of the blame reduces your recovery rather than ending your claim.
- Damage caps: An ordinary New Mexico injury case is not capped; medical-malpractice and government claims have their own separate limits.
- Multiple defendants: New Mexico generally applies several liability, with some exceptions.
California injury law
This is general information about New Mexico injury law, not legal advice. Every case is different.
Hurt in a store that was not kept safe?
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