Tulsa County sheriff sues Walmart over fall in store
BY KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Monday, February 11, 2013
Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz is suing Walmart for as much as $74,999 because he slipped and hurt his knee at a Tulsa store in 2011, court records show.
The lawsuit, filed in Tulsa County District Court, claims that Glanz was at the Walmart Superstore at 2019 E. 81st St. when he slipped and fell on a “spill, or other slippery substance” near a cash register, injuring his right knee.
Glanz filed the lawsuit as a private individual.
The sheriff said Monday that he was shopping with his wife when the accident occurred about 9:20 p.m. May 2, 2011.
“I have had a couple of surgeries since then, and it is still not right,” Glanz said.
The lawsuit claims that Glanz has suffered damages, including bodily injuries, mental pain and suffering, and “loss of income,” past and future.
County records show that Glanz has received his full salary from the date of the fall through Monday.
Glanz’s attorney, Corbin Brewster, said the language regarding loss of income was put into the lawsuit to preserve his client’s right to make that claim.
“However, if the claim is not ultimately supported, we’re not going to pursue that,” Brewster said.
When asked Monday what income he had lost as a result of the fall, Glanz said, “I can’t discuss all of that with you.”
Under state law, county elected officials are allowed to set their own schedules and are not required to adhere to specific vacation or paid-leave policies.
Tulsa County elected officials are covered by the same insurance plan as their employees.
The maximum annual out-of-pocket expenses paid by employees is $1,600, plus co-payments.
Brewster said Glanz, like any other person, is asserting his legal right to hold companies and individuals accountable for their acts or omissions. In this case, it is Walmart, not Glanz or his insurance company, that is responsible for Glanz’s knee injury, he said.
“It is like any case: There is some compensation for him personally, but we are also seeking to compensate the insurance company,” Brewster said.
He said the lawsuit was filed only after negotiations with the retail giant broke down.
“The negotiations presuit were not satisfactory, and we feel in order to be compensated justly for this injury, the only avenue we had was to file a lawsuit,” Brewster said.
The lawsuit claims that at least three acts and omissions by Walmart led to the accident: the company’s failing to maintain its premises reasonably free of hidden dangers; failing to warn customers of dangerous conditions; and failing to maintain the cash register aisle where the accident occurred in “a reasonably safe condition.”
Brewster has represented Glanz in his official capacity as sheriff.
Glanz said Monday that he, not the Sheriff’s Office, is paying for Brewster’s service in the Walmart lawsuit.
Walmart did not respond Monday to a request for comment.
Associated Images:
Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz at a swearing-in ceremony at the Tulsa County Courthouse on Jan. 2. Glanz was beginning his seventh term as sheriff. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World file
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