Just when you think you have heard it all regarding frivolous lawsuits along comes another mind-boggling case. The saga of the runaway Shopping cart has arrived.
The case, with further details outlined in the link below, pertains to a woman who is of the opinion that Walmart is somehow negligent because they did not have a brake mechanism on their Shopping Carts. While the judge ruled against the initial claim, a claim that Walmart was somehow negligent because there were ramps in the parking area allowing carts to roll away, the judge did conclude that shopping carts without brakes could pose a hazard. There is no mention of what the woman did, or should have done, to ensure the cart did not roll away.
Although the plaintiffs' lawyer is not proposing every Walmart location have a locking mechanism on their shopping carts that will stop unintended rolling, the suggestion could have other implications. A similar argument could be made when shopping carts abandoned in parking lots suddenly end up rolling into parked cars. Perhaps those carts also should have had some type locking mechanism. And on it goes.
The case, with further details outlined in the link below, pertains to a woman who is of the opinion that Walmart is somehow negligent because they did not have a brake mechanism on their Shopping Carts. While the judge ruled against the initial claim, a claim that Walmart was somehow negligent because there were ramps in the parking area allowing carts to roll away, the judge did conclude that shopping carts without brakes could pose a hazard. There is no mention of what the woman did, or should have done, to ensure the cart did not roll away.
Although the plaintiffs' lawyer is not proposing every Walmart location have a locking mechanism on their shopping carts that will stop unintended rolling, the suggestion could have other implications. A similar argument could be made when shopping carts abandoned in parking lots suddenly end up rolling into parked cars. Perhaps those carts also should have had some type locking mechanism. And on it goes.
With each passing year, there are more and more situations whereby people look to others for compensation in many cases involving unfortunate outcomes that may have been avoided had they taken some common sense precautions. Did the woman not have the capacity to know that a shopping cart on an incline could roll? It seems that stupidity can be rewarding.
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/walmart-shopper-injured-while-chasing-unsafe-shopping-cart-sues-for-500000
