Ask Me Help Desk - Walmart injury

Walmart injury

I was shoping at walmart and I checked out bent down to put a jug of water under my cart and I came back up and the carousel that holds the bags hit me about my eye. They say its bad timing and I have injuries from it but not insurance. Are they at falt because she should've seen me bent down and should've waited to spin the bags around.

Hello a:

Maybe. I don't know. If you have injuries and medical bills, submit your claim to them. If they don't pay, and your injuries are bad enough, hire a lawyer.

excon

It is a bad thing when those carousells jump out from their platform and hit people.

Sorry but if you bent over and raised up into a semi fixed object you need to take some liablity for your own actions.

And I am sorry, what level of injuries do you have from bumping your head ?

I would assume the walmart took an accident report, and turned it over to their fruad investigation team (yes they have them) and they will have most liekly the entire accident on film to review.
So you submit your bill to them, and see.

If you submit verified medical bills to them I would be surprised if they don't pay them. It would cost them more to fight it. But don't expect to get anything more than reimbursement for the bills.

I would consider it to be their fault if they moved the object into your path causing it to strike you. You had no way of knowing that they were going to move it... I would complain and fight them hard... maybe then they won't try to use those darn things as a way to speed up the sales process at the expense of customer safety.

I agree with the posters above. Take pictures of your injuries and submit the bills and see what happens. But, just as an FYI, I shop at Walmarts too. Those cashiers aren't paying attention to what the customers are doing while they are busy ringing up our purchases. They are paid to get us checked out as efficiently as possible, bag the purchase after it is scanned, and take our money. I must say, where I live it is awfully hard to place yourself in a position to get hit by those carousels. They are located behind the counter. Did you get clipped on the right hand side of the aisle where another cashier was working? Are you looking for more than your medical expenses to be paid? Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

Umm, If I'm understanding what this carousel is, it's a rotating stand that holds plastic bags for the checker to fill with your purchases. While the handles of the bag holders do stick out, they don't protrude beyond the base. Therefore there is no issue of moving something into your path.

Like I said, I think they will reimburse you, but I don't think you have a chance of winning in a court if they refuse.

Hello again:

I think the Padre is right. I'll bet Walmart watches it's customers in every nook and cranny of their stores. Ok, maybe not in the dressing rooms and rest rooms, but other than that, you can't make a move in there without it being recorded.

excon

PS> MY city is too good for a Walmart. So, aren't we cool?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Umm, If I'm understanding what this carousel is, its a rotating stand that holds plastic bags for the checker to fill with your purchases. While the handles of the bag holders do stick out, they don't protrude beyond the base. Therefore there is no issue of moving something into your path.

Like I said, I think they will reimburse you, but I don't think you have a chance of winning in a court if they refuse.

Scott, just as an FYI, the "bag holders" in my local Walmart not only don't protrude beyond the base, they are set back from where the purchaser is standing. You have to reach over to pick up your bags if the cashier doesn't hand them to you. So, unless the set up is different, or addidas got clipped on the other side of the aisle, next to the cashier working at the register next to him/her, I would have a tough time getting clipped by the bag holders next to my own cashier. I would have to lean into them, over the counter and low to cause them to hit me in the face. I find it hard to believe they are different in another store because their construction department has been going around the country using the same specs to outfit all the stores with those carousels. But, who knows? Maybe the check out area is different in his store and the bag holders protrude into the customer aisle. If that is the case, there must be more people who have had this issue. If there aren't any other people who have had the same problem, addidas will be lucky to get his medical bills paid and I do agree with you that he won't have a chance of winning in a court if he is looking to file a major lawsuit. He would need to prove that the construction was faulty, other people have been hurt as well, and there is an ongoing lifelong medical condition resulting from this accident if he sues with an expectation of a big windfall.

Shows you how much shopping I do at Walmart. I'm rarely there. I was assuming it was something like gorcery stores.

Wal-Mart does watch every thing - the cameras scan every aisle, every check stand, everyone - except for the restroom and dressing room. You might have a tough time proving Wal-Mart did something wrong.

Well just for you guys, I did some personal research, I went to walmart and looked at one of the bagging set up. All of the arms are back behind the edge of the counter edge. To hit it, one would have to move forward as they were raising up with their head over the counter where the bags are at.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adidas1283

i was shoping at walmart and i checked out bent down to put a jug of water under my cart and i came back up and the carousel that holds the bags hit me about my eye. they say its bad timing and i have injuries from it but not insurance. are they at falt becuase she should've seen me bent down and should've waited to spin the bags around.

It has been my experience - plenty of people slip and fall at Walmart! - that they reimburse reasonable medical bills backed by medical evidence; they do NOT simply pay because maybe they were negligent. Their argument will be that X number of people shop in WalMart every day and there have been X number of accidents (and perhaps that number is "0") just like this one - and they will probably win. Not every injury is someone else's fault. And, yes, the write thorough incident reports and hold onto the tapes when an accident is reported.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adidas1283

i was shoping at walmart and i checked out bent down to put a jug of water under my cart and i came back up and the carousel that holds the bags hit me about my eye. they say its bad timing and i have injuries from it but not insurance. are they at falt becuase she should've seen me bent down and should've waited to spin the bags around.

When I got hit she spun the bag rack around as I was coming up .

Quote:

Originally Posted by adidas1283

When i got hit she spun the bag rack around as i was coming up .

Have they offered to pay your medical bills? What does the Incident/Accident Report say? I still think it is going to be very difficult to prove negligence if thousands of people shop at WM every day and this is the first incident of this type. You also have some responsibility for not leaning into the area where the arms are located - particularly if you've shopped there before and know the arms move. Not every accident is the result of someone's negligence - and WM is tough on accident claims!