Earlier this month, a state appeals court ordered Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., to pay $10 million to a truck driver who suffered severe injuries while making a delivery to a Wal-Mart retail store. Wal-Mart appealed the initial verdict, denying that it was responsible for the truck driver’s injury, but the appellate court affirmed the verdict.
The truck driver filed the slip-and-fall lawsuit after she fell on ice and grease while making a delivery to a Wal-Mart store. In her lawsuit, she referenced city documents which showed that a device intended to trap grease runoff from the Wal-Mart deli had failed, causing the grease to go into the sewer. That grease ultimately caused the truck driver to fall and injure herself.
As a result of the serious injuries she sustained in that fall, the truck driver had to undergo three spinal surgeries. She was unable to work, and ultimately lost her truck. She filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, alleging that the retailer was responsible for her fall and her injuries.
The trial court ruled in favor of the truck driver and ordered Wal-Mart to pay $10 million in damages. The retailer appealed, claiming the award was “excessive” and accusing the plaintiff’s attorneys of failing to provide the city document they used in the case against Wal-Mart. An appeals court ordered a new trial, but a higher court threw out that order, stating that the city document could easily have been found in public records.
If you have suffered a slip-and-fall injury in a restaurant or retail store, please contact Breslin & Breslin for a free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.
Source: CBS News, “Wal-Mart to pay trucker $10M for greasy ice fall,” Nov. 7, 2011
