$50,000 in medical care and home-help costs can turn on whether you got the right proof in the first 48 hours.

To prove a Kenner store caused a falling-shelf head injury, you need evidence showing three things: the shelf or display was unsafe, the store knew or should have known, and that failure caused your injury. In Louisiana, merchant claims live or die on that notice issue.

The follow-up question you should be asking is: how fast will this evidence disappear? Fast. Sometimes in days.

Get and lock down:

• Incident report from the store the same day
• Photos/video of the shelf, brackets, boxes, spilled items, warning signs, aisle layout
• Names and numbers of witnesses and employees who saw it
• Surveillance footage covering the aisle before and after the collapse
• Medical records from EMS, Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner, East Jefferson General, or wherever you were treated
• Proof of what changed after: cane, walker, home aide, missed activities, inability to live alone

Do not assume the store will keep video. Many systems overwrite footage in days or weeks. A preservation demand needs to go out immediately for surveillance, inspection logs, stocking records, cleaning logs, prior complaints, and employee schedules.

Louisiana gives you less room for delay than people think. For injuries before July 1, 2024, the filing deadline was usually 1 year. For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, it is generally 2 years under Louisiana's updated prescriptive period for delictual actions. But waiting even a week can still wreck the case because the best proof is often gone long before the lawsuit deadline.

If the collapse happened during Kenner construction season near lane shifts or loading activity on roads like Veterans Memorial Boulevard or Williams Boulevard, also preserve delivery records and any photos of restocking or equipment in the aisle. That is how you prove this was not "just a freak accident," but a preventable store failure.