$3 Million Forklift Accident Settlement for an Injured Customer

Disclaimer: Every case is unique and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

A Serious Injury in the Aisles

The plaintiff, a restaurant owner, was seriously injured while shopping at a wholesale supply store when an employee operating a forklift struck him and his shopping cart. The force of the impact pushed the plaintiff into shelving and caused injuries to his left shoulder and spine. He did not seek immediate medical attention. After completing an incident report, he left the store and sought medical treatment a few days later. Over time, however, his shoulder pain and neck pain grew worse and ultimately resulted in surgeries.

A Dangerous Untrained Employee Behind the Wheel

The defendant employee was employed for less than three weeks before the incident. The defendant store allowed him to operate a forklift in the store while customers were shopping, without any of the required training or certification for forklift operation. It was revealed that the employee had a drug problem, a suspended driver’s license, and an extensive criminal history. He left the store minutes after the incident and never returned.

The Video That Wasn’t Supposed to Exist

Worse, the defendant store denied that surveillance video recordings of the incident existed. They claimed the “hard drive was down.” But a former employee testified that she had seen the video footage depicting the incident hours after it happened. The same employee also testified that store employees often drove forklifts dangerously on the premises, and that the same defendant employee had struck another customer just days before the incident with the plaintiff.

Holding the Store Accountable

Despite pre-existing conditions in his spine and shoulders, medical evidence was able to demonstrate that the incident caused and/or exacerbated certain conditions and necessitated the need for the plaintiff’s surgeries.