A few years ago, a man was shopping in a New York Costco when he was hit in the head by a steel rod. He was simply reaching for a package of paper towels but what the 62-year-old man got instead was a traumatic brain injury. The victim has now filed a federal lawsuit against Costco. He is asking for monetary damages on the grounds that the conditions at the store were unsafe, dangerous, or defective.
The specifics of the lawsuit
The attorney of the victim states that said victim was trying to get paper towels down from a stack that was more than seven feet high. When he did so, a 40-inch long steel pipe, which was three inches in diameter, fell down and hit him above his eye. The impact resulted in a concussion, dexterity loss to his hand, migraines, changes to his mood and behavior, muscle and nerve damage around his eye, and short-term memory issues.
He is seeking more than $75,000 in damages to cover his medical costs, his lost wages, and his pain and suffering.
Questions remain about Costco’s part in the accident
Generally, Costco does not make public comments on litigation and this is not exception. They will need to respond in court to the accusation that they did not meet their duty of care when a customer was injured in a self-service environment. Costco is going to be in a position to prove that they took reasonable care to ensure their customers were safe, out of danger, and not dealing with defective conditions.
The case may depend on whether or not the court decides that stacking the paper products seven feet high was safe. There are also questions about where the steel rod came from and whether it was stacked on top of the paper display.
This is not the first premises liability case Costco has faced
Last year, Costco lost a slip and fall case in which a customer broke their ankle. The victim was awarded more than $400,000 by a jury. In 2014, a jury awarded nearly $10 million to a woman who was hit by a shopping cart on an escalator at Costco when it was proven that an employee improperly put the cart there.
Do you believe you have a premises liability case?
Have you been injured in a store? Have you been injured on the property of another person? Was your injury partially or entirely the result of said person or entity acting negligently or recklessly? If so, you then you may have cause for a personal injury lawsuit. The best way to find out if you have a case and what your options are is to contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707.
