Wal-Mart Victim Has Good Day in Court

In a decision handed down this month, Justice Faour started his decision with: "November 18, 1998 was not a good day for Marion Allen". And how!

While shopping at the Wal-Mart store at the Village Mall in St. John's, Mrs. Allen and her husband made some purchases and mounted the conveyor belt to the second level of the store. She fell, becoming trapped between the moving belt and her shopping cart. Wal-Mart admitted liability. But it took a hard line on what injuries it would be responsible for.

The defendant Wal-Mart argued that the injuries should have resolved within a maximum of two years. They relied on the evidence of a notorious defence medical examiner, Dr. Lloyd, for this position. The trial judge rejected this evidence and found that the plaintiff's injuries put her within a small group of people who had residual symptoms beyond what average experience would lead one to expect.

The trial judge was not timid in his award with respect to non-pecuniary general damages for pain and suffering. He found that Mrs. Allen suffered a moderate soft-tissue injury with injuries to the cervical and lumbar spine which left her disabled some 10 years after the accident, triggering a chronic pain syndrome which disabled her from her normal activities. He awarded $90,000 for pain and suffering. With other amounts for lost past and future income and housekeeping capacity etc. folded in, the total award was $229,000, plus costs.

This case is another illustration of the unreasonable and oppressive behavior of some defendants. Congratulations to the plaintiff's lawyer Ernest Gittens for having the courage to take this case to trial and get such a great outcome for Mrs. Allen.