Posted on 06/04/2007 5:25:34 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3
LIVINGSTON — A Livingston Parish jury returned a verdict worth more than $1 million against Wal-Mart in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in December 2005, attorneys and court officials said.
Ruby R. Guillory, 90, of Westlake died about month after she was hit in the leg by a garden cart being pushed by a Wal-Mart employee in the Walker Supercenter, plaintiffs’ attorney Timothy Pujol said in a statement.
Guillory’s leg bled from the 8-inch cut sustained Oct. 3, 2005. The wound later became infected.
She died five days after being released from a two-week hospital stay to treat that infection, the statement said.
Guillory lived in senior housing but performed all the daily activities of life before the injury, the statement said.
The jury that heard the case awarded Guillory’s three grown children $100,000 each for their mother’s wrongful death; $750,000 for mental anguish, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life; and another $37,274 for medical and funeral expenses, court records show.
The jury found the Wal-Mart employee, Martha Watson Hookfin, 100 percent at fault, an unsigned verdict forum shows.
The award, which followed a three-day trial May 15, 16 and 17 in 21st Judicial District Court, totals $1.087 million. The court has jurisdiction in Livingston, Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes.
A judgment awaited the signature of Judge Ernest Drake Jr. Friday afternoon, court clerks said.
He heard the case.
The attorney representing Wal-Mart and corporate public relations officials in Bentonville, Ark., didn’t return messages seeking comment Thursday and Friday.
Not saying the Walmart employee wasn’t at fault, but wondering about the hospital that possibly discharged her too early. I’m a nurse, work with the frail elderly, and see it all the time.
That must have been one helluva cut. Doesn't make sense that the hospital could not treat the infection or that they would release someone who was still badly infected.
-ccm
Went to a hospital and came out with an infection. That never happens. /s
You got that right!........
I receive my assisted living patients back from the hospital too early very frequently because Medicare will not pay for an extended stay. They require daily wound care from visiting nurses, but Medicare will not pay the agency enough to make the required frequency of visits.
The wound care ends up being done (and frequently not done) by untrained caregivers because the facility does not have nurses on the premises. They don’t want to pay for nurses, so they hire anyone off the street to be a caregiver for about $8.50 an hour. Many of them can barely speak English.
I would agree, what gives with the hospital? If she was diabetic her risk was greater as well. I would think that since most people would recover that the blame isn’t all Wal-Mart’s fault, did they not sue others in this case?
May she RIP.
The woman was 90 years old.
She was going to die of something in the not too distant future.
Luckily she died in a manner which allowed her next-of-kin to cash in.
“Hey Gram, time to go shopping at Wal-Mart!”
WalMart ping.
Something doesn’t sound right here........
I agree with you. The jury system too often takes advantage of sympathy and results in outrageous verdicts; but there are times when it works.
They didn’t sure the retirement home? Wow. They need to get with the program. They are cash cows for the sue-happy.
May I ask why? Not about your contempt, but why you think this is right........
Agreed! "Ruby R. Guillory, 90...was hit in the leg by a garden cart...Guillory’s leg bled from the 8-inch cut..."
Eight inches?! That's the approx. width of a sheet of typing paper. That's approx. 2" longer than a dollar bill. From being hit in the leg by a garden cart? From a garden cart? Like this?
Cheese louise, it must have nearly sheered off her leg!
I’ll do a Wal-Mart run on T or W to help Wal-Mart make up some of that lost revenue. ;)
Actually, Wal-Mart got off easy. Now, if John Edwards had been on the case instead of primping for the cameras once again, they would’ve been toast, LOL!
Good morning, Mrs. N!!!
Yes, a WalMart employee obviously caused the initial injury.......but for pete’s sake, she was hospitalized for 2 weeks and then died after her release and yet it’s all WM’s fault? As I said, something is just not right here, or else there is a whole lot missing from this story.
EWWWWWWWW.........
“The jury found the Wal-Mart employee, Martha Watson Hookfin, 100 percent at fault, an unsigned verdict forum shows.”
The article could bother to explain if the employee acting in accordance with her employee duties. Why was her employer sued instead of her (unless its just the old ‘deep pocket envy’)
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