After a Burlington injury, ask quickly for the store's video, reports, and records to be kept, and name the store, the spot, the time, and the camera views that matter. We found no public Burlington footage-retention period, so don't assume the video will still exist weeks later.
Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
How soon should I ask? | As soon as you safely can, ideally within days. |
Can I ask before hiring a lawyer? | Yes. You can tell the store in writing to keep the material, and a lawyer can follow up with a more precise request. |
Does preservation stop the store from cleaning or repairing? | No. Safety work can go ahead with reasonable photos and, where practical, the removed parts kept. |
Does missing video mean I win? | No. A judge decides what happens if evidence was lost. [S11] |
What shouldn't I do? | Don't go into staff-only systems, take store property, or recreate the fall. Safety and medical care come first. |
Ask for the minutes around the fall, not just the fall
A clip of the fall alone may not show the hanger landing on the floor, a rack being moved, an earlier complaint, or the cleanup.
Ask for | What it can answer (hypothetical) |
|---|---|
The 30 to 60 minutes before the fall | Whether the hanger was in the walkway at 3:10 p.m., before your 3:45 fall. |
The minutes after | Who picked it up and whether a sign went out. |
The neighboring cameras | The end-of-aisle camera may show a rolling rack being pushed in. |
The entrance and parking views | Rain being tracked in, or the car that backed into you. |
Keep the request tied to views and times that make sense, instead of asking for every camera indefinitely.
Questions about the video system | Why they matter |
|---|---|
Who controls the system? | It may be the store operator, a landlord, or a security vendor. |
What was exported, and in what format? | A phone recording of a monitor loses detail. |
Was the camera clock accurate? | A clock running seven minutes fast changes the timeline. |
What can't the camera show? | A small hanger, a blind spot, or poor resolution can limit what it proves. |
Keep the original files and use copies for zooming in or adding arrows, and note every change you make to a copy.
Read next | What it covers |
|---|---|
The other early steps, from care to witnesses. |
Records that explain what the store knew and did
Reports, photos, cleaning and inspection entries, work orders, complaints, vendor scopes, and messages can each fill in part of the story.
Record | What it may show (hypothetical) |
|---|---|
Incident report | What staff wrote down at 3:50 p.m. |
Staff photos | The aisle before anything was moved. |
Inspection or walk-through entries | Whether anyone checked that aisle that afternoon. |
Work orders | A ticket about a loose fitting-room bench from the week before. |
Vendor scope | What the mat or fixture company was hired to do. |
Complaints | An earlier customer report about the same spot. |
Ask what records actually existed at that store, because a standard printout can leave out attachments or status history, and a closed ticket doesn't always mean the work was done.
If a record is missing, ask | Why |
|---|---|
Was it ever created? | Some tasks aren't logged. |
Was it kept, and was it searched for? | Loss and a poor search are different problems. |
Who had it? | That person may know what happened to it. |
Does a gap prove destruction? | Not by itself. Disputes go through the discovery rules. |
Keep the physical evidence and your own records
A mat, a rack part, a fixture, your shoes, or a garment can show how the injury happened.
Item | How to keep it (hypothetical) |
|---|---|
A broken bench leg or rack wheel | Ask that it be tagged, photographed, and stored, not thrown away. |
The entrance mat | Photograph its position and edges before it's replaced. |
Your shoes | Bag them without cleaning them. |
Your phone | Keep the original photos and messages from that day. |
An inspection plan can cover how the item is identified, photographed, stored, accessed, and tested, so both sides can rely on it later.
Your side of preservation | Why it matters |
|---|---|
Don't delete posts, messages, or accounts | Preservation duties apply to the injured person too. |
Don't edit original photos | An altered image invites questions. |
Tell your lawyer about any accidental loss right away | Backups and other sources may still exist. |
What spoliation means, and what it doesn't
Under Brookshire Brothers v. Aldridge, the judge decides whether a party had a duty to keep evidence, whether it failed, and what proportionate remedy fits. [S11]
Spoliation question | What the court looks at |
|---|---|
Duty | Did the party know, or should it have known, that a claim was likely? |
Breach | Did it fail to take reasonable steps to keep the evidence? |
Remedy | A spoliation jury instruction is reserved for intentional destruction, or a negligent loss that left the other side with no meaningful way to prove its case. [S11] |
Lost video doesn't prove negligence, so the case still needs its own evidence. In H-E-B, LP v. Peterson (2026), the claim failed because nothing showed how long the puddle had been on the floor. [S5]
Instead of relying on a sanction | Build this proof |
|---|---|
Arguing about lost footage | Witnesses who saw the hazard earlier. |
Assuming the store hid something | A timeline from receipts, messages, and reports. |
Waiting for a ruling | Your own photos and the physical evidence. |
Questions about Burlington evidence
These come up most often once people start gathering evidence.
Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
Should I send the store a letter myself? | You can. Keep it short: the store, the date, the time, the spot, and a request to keep video and records. |
Can the store fix the hazard right away? | Yes. Safety comes first; the request asks that it be documented and parts kept where practical. |
Who can help with an urgent preservation request? | Aaron Herbert is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. [S1] Tell the firm about any repairs planned or records at risk. |
Is the firm connected to Burlington? | No. The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. is not affiliated with or endorsed by Burlington Stores, Inc. |
Tell us about your Burlington injury or call (214) 200-4878 with the store, the time, and what you know about repairs or records that may be lost.
More from the Burlington knowledge hub | What it covers |
|---|---|
All the Burlington guides in one place. | |
The full process, from evidence through trial. |
Sources
Each source below was checked on October 31, 2026.
Ref | Source |
|---|---|
S1 | State Bar of Texas, Aaron Alan Herbert profile. |
S5 | H-E-B, LP v. Peterson, No. 24-0310 (Tex. Apr. 10, 2026). |
S11 | Brookshire Brothers, Ltd. v. Aldridge, 438 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. 2014). |
ABOUT THE ATTORNEY
Aaron A. Herbert
Founding Attorney
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law
Aaron founded The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert in 2010 to focus on developing each client's case and seeking its maximum value. For over a decade, he has represented people seriously injured in major accidents and industrial catastrophes, pursuing trial verdicts and settlements while working to reduce the stress of litigation.
Education
- Texas A&M University · B.S., Criminal Justice, 1999
- University of Oklahoma College of Law · J.D., 2002; graduated in the top of his class
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers