Walmart Litigation Conspiracy (Personal Injury on Christmas Eve)

OK so on Christmas eve I went to walmart for some last minute stocking stuffers with my 3 children and one of their girlfriends.

As I entered the store there was a large pool of water on the floor mixed with sleet and freezing slick liquid. The wet floor signs were out but over to the side near the wall but already having a pre existing condition with bad knee , began to cross the area where there was no safe rubberized carpet with extreme caution.

I have crossed this slick area many times before and did not slip or fall but this time as soon as I stepped onto the wet floor between the carpets, my foot slipped out to my right and I caught myself with a strong jarring motion which made my hip make a snapping noise, my knee jumped out of place and yet I caught myself from falling.

At this point I knew my knee was displaced and was in serious pain. I had my youngest help me to a cart and I rested my arms on it to alleviate any pressure on the knee and figured I would simply walk it off.

With big plans and much driving ahead of me I was not in the position to call for an ambulance and get carted off leaving my family in a lurch and be an imposition on my family.

My middle son was returning a gun that would not work properly and so I met him at the service desk to show my ID and the receipt. It was at this point my hip, back entire leg and spine began to hurt very badly, but no stranger to pain I just told the employess in an angry voice to go clean up the water on the entry floor as I had slipped and was in pain from it.

They asked at that point if I wanted to make a report and I said no, not at this time, but that the important thing is to sop up the slick mess at the entry.

By the time I made it back to toys, hanging on the cart, I knew I was a goner, now in extreme pain, it was apparent my knee was out and hip somehow involved in the jarring I took upon entering the store.

We cut our shopping short and as I was leaving the store asked for a manager to make a report. I told them no matter how much I wanted to be OK, I was not and that this may need to be looked at by a DR.

The manager came and she was the first indication that walmart is not concerned about customer care, but rather began grilling me like a drill sergeant about where I had sustained the alleged injury. I had to repeat 3 times that I was 'inside' walmart when I slipped. She also kept insisting that I said fall, I told her that it would have been better had I fallen, but instead tried to correct myself, which it was now obvious was the most painful way to go.

I made the report and to make a painful story short, spent the rest of the weekend, Christmas Holiday either on crutches or wheelchair, and in Extreme pain, thinking something was broken in several spots along my leg, hip and knee. Losing sleep due to the pain is an understatement.

The stiffening began and some form of contraction of my hip as well. Everything on my right side contracting and in pain beyond words.

I got some pain killers and Rx strength Motrin from someone close, and took those to get through Christmas as a complete cripple on crutches and wheelchair, but without as many screams when someone accidentally touched my foot or leg or I changed positions.

Now you may be wondering why I would place this in a conspiracy forum?

IMHO, and stupidity, I went yesterday to the local knee, hip specialist in our small community who is affiliated with the local bigbrother hospital. They really are the 'company store' and accept large contributions from walmart as a rule.

Stupid me.

Even though I told him about the entire body he only checked my knee and hip. Again long short, he made absolute light of my situation and put this off as if it is because I am overweight and a smoker. My knee was hanging by a thread and he went on about how it is a preexisting condition bla bla bla, and I said yes, but I KNOW that it was from the slip that I am here and the pain is the indicator of a new level of condition. My hip was fine before this, my entire leg from ankle to sciatic was fine, he insisted it was no big deal.

Anyway he offered a cortizone shot in the hip and knee, I declined at my age to get cortizone, he agreed, kind of. He offered pain medication like that could be what I am up to...



I told him again that is not the path at my age and activity level as well as personal responsibility with family both young and old. He prattled past a suggestion for Mobic which I jumped on as my Mom once had it and it really worked well for me.

He showed me one little exercise of laying on the bed and doing a leg lift! Come on! I train my Sons in martial arts, meditation and yoga!!! I am limber and had he tried my 'other' hip would have seen my ability!!!!!

I knew, knew to get out of there at this point! Even my 12 year old son KNEW, this guy was BSing me and probably paid by walmart to make light of anyone coming in with a walmart complaint!!!

Anyway, I am making another appointment, and for a borderline agoraphobic, this is REALLY out of my comfort zone!!!

Not to mention when the chips are down I really don't have anyone to reply upon and am too stubborn and independent to call for a ride from the local windowlicker bus...

Yes I am grouchy as hell, pain does that, I can not sit here any longer and need to get up and strech a bit, but need some advice, support and help if anyone knows how to tackle this.

I would like to see walmart be found responsible for their inability to keep customers safe. I did look online for about an hour last night to check out all the blogs and websites devoted to litigation against walmart, so I see that the same wording is used in personal blogs as in sites that advocate suits against walmart which are actually walmart sites!!!

Get over it..

You should of been more careful..

No one is responsible for your stupidity.

People like you are the reason America is in decline,
because of all these ridiculous, frivolous, lawsuits
dragging the system down.
It's not Wal-marts fault you fell, it is yours for not looking..
Have your insurance take care of it.. (If you don't have insurance that is YOUR fault)
This is why universal healthcare would be horrible to our system.
Only person at fault is you.
You want to sue? Sue yourself..

reply to post by thecinic


Thanks for your empathetic reply, I did say that IMO walmart should have had the entire floor covered in the rubberized mats which would have kept me safe and this would have never happened. I was as cautious as I could have been and it is walmart that was not cautious.

walmart does not even come close on their payouts to what we have paid out for the elite bailouts which drug us down...

Sorry for your pain. You have no chance of winning a law suit. They had the warning signs out. I doubt if they will rubberize the entire chain to keep us safe. I suggest they offer a helmet and safety suit with bumpers for those who feel they may be injured there.

i am truley sorry you hurt yourself, but honestley i do not support the whole "sue happy" agenda, i take from your story that it was snowy and wet outside, do you relise how hard it is to keep a walkway dry when it is raining/snowing and hundreds of people are entering per hour? come on now really try and put yourself in someone elses shoes.

if your slip happend in your own driveway you would have cussed a bit and moved along, if i slipped at your house i wouldnt sue you either, we used to have to watch out for ourselves and take responsbility lets go back to those times,

the true conspiracy is the massive plan by people to sue deep pocket companys.

First off, I am sorry for your injury. I wish you a speedy recovery. I imagine that if you got an attorney, then you could get your medical expenses covered, as litigation would be more costly to the business establishment. However, there is an issue with trying to take this to court (if it gets to that point). The issue is that IF the slick area was due to rain/sleet/snow/etc..., then the condition is considered an act of nature and acts of nature exempt businesses (and private property) from liability...UNLESS, they did something to change the conditions of the natural event (such as put salt on the frozen area). The fact that they had "wet floor" signs up will only strengthen their defense of liability.

***DISCLAIMER***

I am not an attorney; however, I did work in liability insurance for several years and I handled a number of slip and fall cases.

EDIT: If the business establishment had placed those rubber mats down, as you suggested to them, then they would have changed the naturally occurring conditions. If someone was to slip and fall on the rubber mats, then the business would have been liable due to changing the natural conditions.

reply to post by antar


Honest question:

Lets say you didnt slip at Walmart, and instead of you made it to your destination and made it to your friends/relatives house and slipped on their front porch. Would you be so anxious to sue them or expect them to cover your medical bills for not salting their porch?

If not, you are part of the problem.

Originally posted by BigTimeCheater
reply to post by antar

 

Honest question:

Lets say you didnt slip at Walmart, and instead of you made it to your destination and made it to your friends/relatives house and slipped on their front porch. Would you be so anxious to sue them or expect them to cover your medical bills for not salting their porch?

If not, you are part of the problem.

Thats not even a question thats a story. Problem? Whats problem? Puddles? shes part of the slipping and falling epidemic thats destroying the world?

If your going to contribute.. you know.. DO it.



Op,

Lawyer up. Dont complain. KNOW their carelessness injured you. No more anonymous opinions from 12 year olds passive aggressively calling you fat and clumsy.

Go and do it. That is the only thing that will get you anything for your injuries they aren't going to HAND it to you unless they are afraid of you. You have to TAKE what they owe from them. Yes this is how it works and anyone that tells you differently is only going to offer you things to complain about which helps nothing. Dont post here or complain here. go out and get it.

Use that pain and that anguish to find someone to press the issue legally.

reply to post by antar


A couple years ago my wife had a similar thing happen at a supermarket, and the funny thing is, it happened on Christmas Eve.

Well she slipped on the Yellow paint on the wheelchair ramp that was covered in ice and rain (obviously salt wasn't put on the ramp right out side the entrance) and broke her leg in two places. An ambulance took her and my 2 year old daughter to the hospital (daughter was fine) fixed her up and sent her home.

we got a hold of a lawyer right away, because we were told it wasn't the supermarkets fault and the owner of the "lot" it was on should have used different paint. Of course the owner blamed the supermarket.

All we were asking for was to have our medical bills taken care of, and lost wages from the time she had to be off of work.

We fought them for two years, and a couple months ago they finally decided to pay for the medical bills.

We didn't get everything we wanted out of it, and we had a lot of financial hardships, but we at least got our medical bills paid for.

The funniest thing about the whole thing, is that the general manager admitted to wrong doing, but since they didn't have video proof, they refused to pay anything other than medical.

Don't give up, you can win!

And to those that don't believe taking a company to court for lack of safety, have never dealt with the pain, and burdens these safety issues can cause. If people didn't hold these companies accountable, then it will happen more often than you think.

Be forewarned: even though she won the case, because the supermarket is a private company, she was told by a lawyer in another state that she has been banned from any and all supermarkets of this type.

reply to post by Huggiesunrise


Simma down child.

She is part of the litigious problem that has infected this country. If she wouldnt be willing to sue her friend/relative, but is willing to go after Walmart because it has tremendously deep pockets, that shows hypocrisy on her part.

Hence being part of the problem.

Walmart took the precautions, it had signs out. If an overweight woman with bad knees falls, it isnt Walmarts problem, its hers.

Originally posted by BigTimeCheater
reply to post by antar

 

Honest question:

Lets say you didnt slip at Walmart, and instead of you made it to your destination and made it to your friends/relatives house and slipped on their front porch. Would you be so anxious to sue them or expect them to cover your medical bills for not salting their porch?

If not, you are part of the problem.

Is your friends house a public area where people expect it to be safe to walk?

I would not sue my friend, but would hope they had home owners insurance to help pay for my medical expenses.

But these large corporations don't care whether you hurt yourself like your friend might, they just want to see profit, and if they are liable to when they do something or don't do something that causes harm to someone, then they have to pay more in insurance which hurts there bottom line.

Here is some additional information regarding slip & falls in relation to naturally occurring conditions:

Natural Accumulation Rule

The natural accumulation rule states that a property owner has a no duty to remove or warn others of the dangers of snow, ice, or rain accumulation and may not be held liable for any injuries caused by such conditions on their property. In most states the natural accumulation rules applies to private homeowners, municipalities, business owners, and outside area such as side walks next to private property. The reasoning behind the natural accumulation rule is that the accumulation of snow and icy are immediately obvious and people should take care and act accordingly. Because the snow and icy conditions are obvious and a reasonable person can be expect to recognize the danger, a property owner cannot be held liable for slip and fall injuries.

Unnatural Accumulation

A property owner will be held liable for a slip and fall injury if they create an unnatural accumulation of snow or ice or make a natural accumulation worse. The main difference between natural and unnatural accumulation is that unnatural accumulation of snow or ice is caused by the act of a person rather than an act of nature. In order to prove that an unnatural accumulation of snow or ice caused a slip and fall injury it must be shown that the owner created a dangerous situation or added to it and should have reasonably known that their actions created a more dangerous situation than the natural accumulation of snow and ice.

SOURCE: www.kitaylaw.com...

Originally posted by thewholepicture


Is your friends house a public area where people expect it to be safe to walk?

I would not sue my friend, but would hope they had home owners insurance to help pay for my medical expenses.

But these large corporations don't care whether you hurt yourself like your friend might, they just want to see profit, and if they are liable to when they do something or don't do something that causes harm to someone, then they have to pay more in insurance which hurts there bottom line.

The front porch of a house is a public area, its were delivery people and assorted others would walk to enter the house.

contrary to everyone elses opinions, I realize that walmart files alot of suits themselves, and so for you to seek payment of your medical costs is well within your rights. they invite you in, so must take responsibility for your safety. if I invited you into my home and you slipped, it is my responsibility.. if you broke into my home, and slipped, in some court cases, it would still be my responsibility... my suggestion would be to ask for the video tape, and then have a lawyer look at it. plus, i would suggest looking into donations made to the doctor, or go see a different dr in the same office, though this omit the location of the injury and see if you get a different response.. big corporations are the best at belittling people, and no how to push their weight around... so be careful, be confident, and seek what you desire... i'm sure you arent selfish, so just ask for what is rightfully yours, payment for your health.. even though wet floor signs are available and present, doesnt mean its an excuse for them to not maintain safety.. thats comparable to me having a sign that says "if you look at me wrong, I will shoot you.." then you looking at me wrong and I shoot you, doesnt me its right or acceptable.. just be honest and keep calling a higher manager and a higher manager.. and stress you dont want to make a public affair out of it, just to be treated fairly and reimbursed for your dr bills..

good luck, and dont get upset with these haters..

reply to post by thecinic

Originally posted by thecinic
Get over it..

You should of been more careful..

No one is responsible for your stupidity.

People like you are the reason America is in decline,
because of all these ridiculous, frivolous, lawsuits
dragging the system down.
It's not Wal-marts fault you fell, it is yours for not looking..
Have your insurance take care of it.. (If you don't have insurance that is YOUR fault)
This is why universal healthcare would be horrible to our system.
Only person at fault is you.
You want to sue? Sue yourself..

Notwithstanding where one's opinion might fall (pun intended) concerning antar's post, your reply is more evidence than anything of America in decline.

Way to go demonstrating one's emotional maturity.

In any event...

Originally posted by antar
As I entered the store there was a large pool of water on the floor mixed with sleet and freezing slick liquid. The wet floor signs were out but over to the side near the wall but already having a pre existing condition with bad knee , began to cross the area where there was no safe rubberized carpet with extreme caution.

I have crossed this slick area many times before and did not slip or fall but this time as soon as I stepped onto the wet floor between the carpets, my foot slipped out to my right and I caught myself with a strong jarring motion which made my hip make a snapping noise, my knee jumped out of place and yet I caught myself from falling.

antar,

Honestly, this isn't the best fact pattern for demonstrating Walmart's negligence. Why didn't you use the provided carpet?

Sorry for your pain. That really sucks. Hopefully, your situation will not be long lasting.

Good luck to you. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

reply to post by loam


Ah ty Loam, I did indeed use the carpet, but if you have ever been to a walmart, as you enter the first door, there is slip proof rubberized carpet heading you towards the second door and final entry to the store. There is an area of approximately 15 feet which is tiled and does not have carpet in between the final piece of carpet as you enter. It was in the tiled area, and first step that I slipped.

I was walking and in a happy mood with my family, I clearly saw the wet floor signs asque and against the wall to my right, knowing that I already have a fragile knee from a sports injury years ago, I was cautious and stepped into the area which was not carpeted and slick from the weather conditions. I was not prepared for the amount of water nor the slick condition due to the frozen water.

I usually have a very balanced and stable footing even with the bad knee.

What I am stating here is that I could use some advice from others who have experienced similar, and know that as far as I am concerned walmart should have not been so cheap as to force their patrons to walk on ice to enter their store. This was an accident waiting to happen. Had they instead used 15 more feet of the rubberized safety carpet I would have have a glorious Holiday celebration and been spared a decline in my health and well-being.

I have 2 95 yr old Grandparents I care take, a 92 yr old aunt with Alzheimers I have in home to care take, a step daughter with health problems I care take from time to time, I have 3 children I am raising alone and with no financial help that are fantastic people, I have 5 dogs and 3 cats, as well as 15 chickens, I have the first year of a backyard nursery going with thousands of plants to caretake, I have 5 acres of property to tend and keep up as well as a large 4 bedroom house that is a constant chore. My cup is FULL, I did not wish to be injured and find it really irresponsible on walmarts part that they were too damn cheap to keep me safe from harm.

I find it interesting that ATS has moved this to the gray area??? A conspiracy???

It is medical help and advice I seek as well as the probability of having a large corporation such as walmart stand responsible for causing medical problems for their patrons when it can be clearly avoided.

Is it possible that they have to keep their hordes, their minions of attorneys busy, working?

I really think that this is an important issue and not one which can be laughed off for any reason. This is serious and possibly part of an ever growing scourge on the rights and responsibilities of these conglomerates taking over the country and weeding out all of the small business.

Also to note, I keep full liability for my property and am fully prepared to initialize it if anyone gets injured on my property. It is not a drop in the bucket for me to keep insurance, but it is my responsibility to friends and family, workers who come to my home.

If I could make them (walmart) I would have them pay for massage therapy, and acupuncture RIGHT NOW! As I cannot afford it but need it. I also am in dire need of an adjustment (chiropractic).

I am not the tiger hell bet on a free ride many of you who don't know me think... I would tell walmart to stick it in their ear if I did not think this needs to be addressed (the wet slick entrance between the carpets luring customers into the wet slick danger zone.) That is something which made me think in depression of more frail and elderly that would have sustained much worse or even died when it CAN BE AVOIDED.