Category: Accident

Wal-Mart and Home Depot Premises & Product Liability

• Accident

Claims against large corporate entities arise for many reasons, but mainly because underpaid and overworked staff tend to be apathetic about maintaining safe conditions. Lawsuits range from slip and fall cases to product liability. There are many opportunities to get hurt in these stores but that does not mean you should avoid pursuing compensation.

Main Takeaways:

• Walmart and Home Deport premises liability cases are frequently referred to as slip and fall claims.
• Premises liability also applies in cases involving unsecured merchandise (such as a customer suffering an impact from a falling item).
• Defective products can also cause injury. This often arises because they fail to respond to a recall or maintain a product in stock despite complaints.
• Proving liability can be difficult, but there are theories of liability that involve showing that store owners were negligent.

Lawsuits Against Walmart & Home Depot

The most common cases Walmart and Home Depot involve premises liability. These are frequently referred to as “slip and fall” claims since most of them involve a customer falling after walking over a wet floor or tripping over damaged terrain. Falls are especially devastating with older customers and damages can be high.

Premises liability also applies in cases involving unsecured merchandise. Home Depot with its high shelves and frequent unsettling is especially vulnerable. Customers may suffer an impact from a falling item. Head injuries and soft tissue pain are the usual results.

While considerably less common, distributors can be held liable for defective products that cause injury. This often arises because they fail to respond to a recall or maintain a product in stock despite complaints. These cases do not occur often because most retailers, including Home Depot and Walmart, do not want to deal with the bad press associated with dangerous products.

Notable Commercial Lawsuits and Settlements

Both Home Depot and Walmart lost claims arising from product liability. While these results are not typical, they show how courts assess these claims. The most notable cases against these entities include:

• Averyt v. Walmart: Considered the largest verdict in a slip and fall case, this case arose out of Holly Averyt slipping and falling on an ice and grease spot on December 13, 2007 at the Greeley, CO location. Her injuries required four surgeries and she was no longer able to work as a truck driver. A jury awarded her $15 million and the State Supreme Court upheld that verdict.
• Lanier v. Walmart: This landmark case from Kentucky changed how premises liability cases are handled. Previously, it was up to the plaintiff to show that the store knew or should have known about a dangerous condition and then addressed it. With this case, the store needed to prove that it took reasonable steps to assure safety. When Walmart could not accomplish that, it faced damages.
• Hartner v. Home Depot: The Pennsylvania case resulted in a $950,000 award to a woman who injured her knee when a manhole cover was obscured by water. While the case dates back to 2002 and damages went into a re-determination procedure, this is considered an example of the effects of premises liability.
• Baynes v. Home Depot: Known as the the “deleted evidence case”, the plaintiff sued after slipping on a wet floor. When she requested surveillance video of the area, Home Depot indicated that it had been deleted. The court construed the missing evidence against Home Depot and ordered $44,383.61 in damages payable to the plaintiff.

Proving Liability and Negligence Against Retailers

Even with these successful verdicts, it is difficult to prove liability against big box stores. Store management and employees may receive the benefit of the doubt, especially if no one alerted them to the dangerous condition.

Theories of liability involve showing that store owners were negligent in any of the following ways:

• Creating the unsafe condition: Using an unsafe floor wax or allowing pipes to leak water on the floor creates unsafe conditions that will likely injure customers.
• Failure to remedy dangers: If a store owner is continuously advised of wet floors or an icy spot at their front door but fails to address the condition, they may be responsible for damages that arise from injuries resulting from those conditions.
• Lack of monitoring: If it is known if, for example, drinks spill frequently in one area and the store fails to monitor and remedy these issues, it may be held liable for not managing dangerous conditions.
• No warning: It is not likely a customer will recover if a display or condition is obvious. If they walk into a hole despite barriers or run into a large conspicuous sign, the store can successfully argue that the customer did not exercise reasonable caution. However, if a hole is obscured by a tarp or it is impossible for customers to notice loose merchandise overhead, then no amount of reasonable caution will prevent these injuries.

If you are injured because a Walmart or Home Depot location was negligent, you need to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney at DuBoff & Associates. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

Side-Impact Car Accidents

• Accident

It is no secret that driving a vehicle comes with some inherent risks and dangers, but unfortunately, many people panic and become unsure of what to do following an accident. It is crucial to find an experienced car accident attorney when you’re struck by another vehicle, but you can’t complete this step until you know what to expect immediately following an accident.

One type of collision, side-impact car accidents, tends to cause more severe property damage and injuries than any other type of crash. Generally speaking, side-impact car accidents are deadliest because there is little to no protection in the areas where vehicles are struck in these collisions. Additionally, these types of accidents are typically the result of a serious traffic violation on behalf of at least one of the vehicles. While rear-end collisions may occur in heavy traffic due to a momentary lapse of attention, it requires a significant amount of negligence to cause a side-impact collision.
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Rear-End Car Accidents: Causes and Fault

• Accident
• Blog

There is no shortage of ways for you to get injured while driving a vehicle, and rear-end accidents are the most common of them all. A rear-end collision occurs when one vehicle strikes another car from behind. Unfortunately, many people fail to realize the potential dangers of rear-end collisions because they seem “less severe” than massive 10-car pileups. In reality, rear-end collisions are not only the most common type of car accident, but they also cause more injuries to unsuspecting drivers than any other type of collision.

While being involved in a rear-end collision is undesirable, there is one positive aspect to these incidents. Maryland law clearly states that the rear-ending driver, or the person who strikes the other vehicle from behind, is responsible for the property damage and injuries that result from the crash. However, you can still be denied compensation if you do not seek legal help from an experienced car accident attorney. By working with a team of attorneys, you can not only enhance your odds of winning in court, but increase your potential compensation.
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WMATA Bus Injury Settlement

• Accident
• MD

On February 10, 2001, District of Columbia resident, 57-year-old Barbara Joyner’s life changed forever. That day, the retired duty nurse was a passenger on a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) bus. As a result of her decision to take the bus that day, she became severely injured and her life was irrevocably changed. One might assume her injuries came as a result of a bus crash since according to a 2010 study from the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, there was an average of 63,000 buses involved in crashes from 199 to 2005. In these accidents, there were 14,000 that caused injuries to the passengers. The study also found inter-city buses to have a higher risk of accidents. Therefore, to assume Barbara’s injury was a result of a bus crash of some type makes sense. However, a bus accident was not in fact what lead to the victim’s injuries in this case.
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Prince George County’s Most Dangerous Roads

• Accident
• Prince George

Zoom in on an area and click the dots to learn more about the accidents that occurred at that location. Use the legend in the top right to toggle on/off types of accidents.

Some of Prince George’s busiest roads also were its deadliest in 2015.

The county’s roads with the highest accident totals for the year included:
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