Walmart Not Liable After Customer Drives Motorized Cart into Other Customer

A federal judge has dismissed a claim against Walmart stemming from an incident that occurred between two customers. According to the lawsuit, a woman was near the checkout when she bent down to look at some body spray. Another customer operating a motorized shopping cart struck her from behind and caused injury, according to the complaint. The woman sued Walmart for the incident claiming that the other customer could not see over the basket in front of her.

For Walmart to have been liable for this claim, the plaintiff would have needed to establish some theory of negligence that held them individually accountable. In this case, a federal judge dismissed the claim on the basis that the plaintiff couldn’t establish that Walmart was liable for an injury caused by another customer. However, lawsuits like this are settled in favor of plaintiffs in some cases. The allegations must, however, be aimed at Walmart and not another customer.

Shopping cart accidents 

Most shopping cart accidents that occur are not related to motorized carts. Instead, they are related to children inside of push carts. Accidents relating to children in push carts occur at a surprising rate. As many as 70% of all shopping cart accidents are related to falls suffered by children while being pushed around in shopping carts. A staggering 24,000 children are injured each year in shopping cart accidents for an average of 66 per day over the course of a typical year. In most cases, the parents are blamed for failing to secure their children properly, allowing them to stand up in the shopping cart, or misusing the child seat.

To establish that Walmart is liable in a case like this, the plaintiff would need to establish that there was something wrong with the cart itself. In most cases, Walmart can easily defend these claims on the basis that the parents should have been paying closer attention to their children.

However, some accidents occur and Walmart is liable for the injuries. These involve defective carts, employees pushing carts into customers, or other allegations that allege negligence by Walmart employees.

Damages in shopping cart injury claims

 Severe injuries stemming from shopping cart injuries are few and far between, but they do happen. If an elderly person is struck by a shopping cart and knocked to the ground, the injuries would be similar to those you would see in a slip and fall accident lawsuit. Plaintiffs can sustain injury to their hips and back, defensive injuries to their wrists, and even head injuries from striking the ground. Such accidents could occur with more frequency during a grocery store’s business hours when shopping cart traffic is the heaviest.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Personal Injury Lawyer Today 

Florin Gray represents the interests of Tampa, FL residents in personal injury lawsuits. Call our Tampa personal injury lawyers today to schedule a free consultation and we can begin discussing your allegations and injuries immediately.

Source:

law.com/njlawjournal/2022/12/01/federal-judge-sides-with-walmart-on-injury-claim-over-motorized-shopping-cart/