As a general rule in California, an individual or an entity does not have a duty to come to the aid of of a person who is sick or injured.  However in California, there is a  “special relationship” doctrine which  may require a business to come to your aid if you are sick or injured on their premises.  Companies such as trucks, buses, taxicabs, and hotels all owe us a duty to take reasonable action to protect us from the risk of physical harm and to give first aid after they become aware we are sick or injured, until we can be cared for by others.   If you have become sick or injured in a store, the store has a common law duty of “reasonable care”.  What is “reasonable care”?  That is the million dollar question.   Recently the California Supreme Court in Verdugo v. Target (2014) 59 Cal.4th 312 stated that target was not required to provide and equip its stores with an AED  (Automatic external defibrillator) in case a patron had a heart attack.   The court reasoned that the burden placed upon target to provide this life saving device was to great in relationship to the potential risk of a person having a heart attack in a target store.  Business owners are going to try and use this case to limit their duty of “reasonable care” that they owe you.  If you have been injured in a business and you believe you were not provided “reasonable care” contact us and we will investigate to see if the business complied with the duty they owe you.