An Alabama man who said he tripped and broke his foot and hip while buying a watermelon at a Walmart store has won a $7.5million verdict in his lawsuit against the retailer.
Henry Walker, who was 59 years old at the time of the incident, was awarded the damages on Wednesday after a jury trial in Phenix City, Alabama, just west of the Georgia state line, court records show.
The decision to reward $2.5million in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages was reached by a jury comprised of seven African-Americans and five whites.
Walker had sued Arkansas-based Walmart Stores Inc, saying his foot became trapped in a pallet beneath the watermelons as he reached for one of the fruits at a Phenix City Walmart on June 25, 2015.
Henry Walker had sued Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc, saying his foot became trapped in a pallet beneath the watermelons as he reached for one of the fruits at a Phenix City Walmart on June 25, 2015. The Phenix City branch is seen in the above image
‘We are disappointed in the verdict,’ Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said Thursday.
‘We appreciate the jury’s service, however we believe that the damages awarded were excessive in light of the facts in this case. We plan to appeal.’
Walmart should have covered the pallet so that it could not entangle a shopper’s foot, Charles Gower, one of Walker’s attorneys, told The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
‘It was a fair verdict because Walmart just didn’t care,’ said Gower, the lead attorney.
‘They should have had something to cover up that pallet so someone’s foot couldn’t get caught in it, and they didn’t.’
‘I think this jury appreciated what Mr Walker went through and they compensated him accordingly,’ said Gower’s partner on the legal team, David Rayfield.
‘This is a great verdict for the community because this jury wanted to make sure it was safe for shoppers.’
In court records and in testimony, Walmart has maintained that the display was not dangerous, and that any negligence was Walker’s fault.
In fact, the same displays are still used, it said.
‘Walmart continues to display watermelons in the same manner as it did on June 25, 2015,’ the company in a court filing on Wednesday.
‘These displays come to the store from the producer already packaged and ready to be dropped and displayed.’