Shopping bags hang on a carousel at a Walmart store. A Nebraska man’s lawsuit says the failure of an overfilled bag outside a Walmart store led to the death of his wife. Bloomberg file
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska
man has sued Wal-Mart, saying the failure
of an overfilled plastic shopping bag
led to the death of his wife.
The lawsuit was first filed in February
by William Freis, of Plattsmouth, but
has since been moved to U.S. District
Court in Omaha, the Lincoln Journal
Star reported.
The lawsuit says the bag failed on
April 16, 2010, outside a Wal-Mart
store in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue.
The lawsuit says a cashier placed two
42-ounce cans of a La Choy product and
a 2-pound bag of rice in a single bag and
handed it to Lynette Freis.
The bag broke as she carried it to her
car, the lawsuit says, and one of the cans
fell on her right big toe, cutting and fracturing
it. The injuries led to an infection
that spread through her body and,
despite antibiotics, hospitalizations and
two surgical procedures, “ultimately resulted
in her death on March 12, 2011.”
The lawsuit says Wal-Mart failed to
properly train its employees on filling
the bags or when double-bagging should
be employed.
The lawsuit also named the bag’s manufacturer,
Hilex Poly Co., of Hartsville,
S.C., alleging that the bag was defective,
and St. Louis-based Bunzl Distribution,
which provided the bag to Wal-Mart.
The lawsuit seeks nearly $657,000
for medical and funeral expenses, plus
an unspecified amount for her pain and
suffering and the loss to her husband.
Representatives of Hilex didn’t immediately
return messages from The Associated
Press on Wednesday.
Bunzl spokeswoman Dawn Ouchi said
the company wouldn’t comment.
Neither Wal-Mart nor the other defendants
has yet filed an answer to the
allegations, but Wal-Mart had sought to
move the case to federal court.
Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove
extended condolences to the Freis
family and said “customer safety is a top
priority, and we take it seriously any
time an injury is reported in one of our
stores.”
But Hargrove declined to comment
directly on the allegations and said
Wal-Mart will respond appropriately in
court.
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