A Phenix City, Alabama man was awarded $7.5 million after he fell getting a watermelon at a local Walmart store.
A Russell County jury decided Thursday that Henry Walker should receive the payout from Walmart Stores Inc. after a days-long negligence trial.
Court records state Walker was visiting the Phenix City Walmart, located at 3700 Highway 280, in June 2015. Walker reached for a watermelon in a container, but tripped and his foot got stuck in a wooden pallet on the floor. He fell and suffered several injuries, including a broken hip.
According to one of Walker's attorneys Shaun O'Hara, the watermelon container was on top of the pallet and wasn't visible when Walker had to reach inside for his fruit. Walker did not step on the wood, but his foot slid in a side opening on the pallet. When he tried to turn towards his buggy, Walker's foot got stuck and he fell.
Jurors viewed security footage from the Walmart store and saw several other people have their feet caught in the side opening of the pallet, O'Hara said.
Walker sued Walmart on both a negligence claim and a wantonness claim-- the jury was in favor of Walker on each. Walmart had a duty to "exercise reasonable care, to maintain and keep its premises in a reasonable safe condition, and to warn the public of unsafe and hazardous conditions," the negligence claim in the complaint states. The store should have known the hidden pallet was likely to cause an injury, it states regarding wantonness.
Yesterday's jury verdict states Walker will be awarded $2.5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, totaling a payout of $7.5 million.
O'Hara said before the fall, Walker played basketball three days a week with several of his friends. Now, the Army veteran has to use a walker.
"You don't expect to go into a grocery store walking fine on your two feet and come out on a stretcher," O'Hara said.
He said the award was reasonable and hopefully will encourage the retailer to use pallet guards, like other grocers in the area. "The jury of twelve members of this community certainly thought it was a fair verdict after hearing all of the evidence...this fall completely changed Henry Walker's life as he is no longer able to do everyday activities that many of us take for granted."
Randy Hargrove, a spokesperson for Walmart, said to AL.com, "We are disappointed in the verdict and believe that the damages awarded were excessive in light of the facts in this case. We plan to appeal."
Walker was represented by attorneys O'Hara, Charles Gower, and David Rayfield; Walmart was represented by Paul Russell Jr. and Stanley Sasser.
=================
PHENIX CITY, Ala. (AP) An Alabama man who said he tripped and broke his hip while buying a watermelon at a Walmart store has won a $7.5 million verdict in his lawsuit against the retailer.
Court records show that Henry Walker on Wednesday was awarded the damages after a jury trial in Phenix City, Alabama.
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said Thursday the company believes the damages were excessive, and plans to appeal.
Walker had sued Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2015, saying his foot became trapped in a pallet beneath the watermelons as he reached for one.
In a Wednesday court filing, the company said the display wasn’t dangerous.
Charles Gower, one of Walker’s attorneys, tells The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer that Walmart should have covered the pallet so it couldn’t entangle a shopper’s foot.
=======================
Army veteran Henry Walker was trying to buy a watermelon at a Walmart in Alabama when his foot got stuck in a wooden pallet. When he turned, the 59-year-old fell, breaking his hip.
Walker sued Walmart over the 2015 incident, and an Alabama jury has ruled that he should be awarded $7.5 million.
“You don’t expect to go into a grocery store walking fine on your two feet and come out on a stretcher,” Walker’s attorney Shaun O’Hara told AL.com.
A Walmart spokesman said the company plans to appeal.
“We are disappointed in the verdict,” said the spokesman, Randy Hargrove. “We appreciate the jury’s service, however we believe that the damages awarded were excessive in light of the facts of this case.”
The incident unfolded June 25, 2015, when Walker went to a Walmart store in Phenix City, Ala., according to court documents.
Walker reached to pick a melon from a display, and his foot became lodged in the pallet under the watermelon container. He turned, unaware that the pallet was there, and fell and shattered his hip, court documents state.
He sued the retail giant on claims of negligence and wantonness. Attorneys presented the case Tuesday and Wednesday in Russell County Circuit Court.
Walmart had a responsibility to its customers to provide a safe environment and should have known the pallet could cause an injury, his lawyers argued. But the company said the display was not dangerous, according to a Wednesday court filing.
The jury deliberated for about two hours late Wednesday before ruling in favor of Walker, awarding him $2.5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
“I think this jury appreciated what Mr. Walker went through and they compensated him accordingly,” another one of his attorneys, David Rayfield, told the Ledger-Enquirer. “This is a great verdict for the community because this jury wanted to make sure it was safe for shoppers.”
Jurors reviewed security footage from the store and saw that Walker wasn’t the only person to get his foot stuck in the side openings of a wooden pallet on the floor, O’Hara said.
Hargrove, the Walmart spokesman, said he could not comment on the use of wooden pallets or the chain’s safety procedures, saying the case is an “ongoing matter” since the company plans to appeal.
O’Hara told AL.com that the incident “completely changed Henry Walker’s life.” Among other things, the Army veteran who used to play basketball three days a week now needs to use a walker, he said.
“He is no longer able to do everyday activities that many of us take for granted,” the attorney said.