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8/19/1997
Wal-Mart will have to pay $275,000 to a woman injured when a 12-pund footlocker toppled from a shelf and hit her on the head in June 1993, a Clarke County jury has ruled. The civil verdict includes $100,000for compensatory damages and $175,000 for punitive damages.Wal-Mart has 30 days from the Aug. Decision to ask for a new trial. No such motion had been filed as of Monday, according to the circuit clerk's office.Elizabeth Thompson of Wilcox County sued the Thomasville store contending that it did not follow it's own safety procedures.William Utsey, a Butler attorney who represented Mrs. Thompson, said the it is the retail giant's policy to have a spotter on the opposite side of the aisle when the above-head storage shelf is being stocked, and to use dividers and fencing to prevent items from falling.Wal-Mart representatives and attorneys could not be reached for comment Monday.Utsey said the footlocker fell from a top storage shelf more that 7 feet off the ground. After showing luggage to a customer on the opposite side of the aisle from where Mrs. Thompson was standing, a Wal-Mart employee attempted to replace it. When she did, it pushed the locker off the top shelf.The blow to the head caused a laceration and nerve damage, Utsey said. Mrs. Thompson is doing "reasonably well", but still suffers from pain, he said. She could not be reached for comment.Utsey described the jury's decision as fair and reasonable. Grove Hill attorney Gil Gilmore also represented Mrs. Thompson.The Wal-Mart store has since relocated and expanded into a Supercenter in Thomasville.By Gayle RayStaff Reporter
Mobile Register
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