On June 26, 2015, April Jones was shopping at her local Walmart on Beltline Drive in South Carolina. As she walked down the store’s main aisle, she stepped on a rusty nail. Jones was walking through Walmart when she stepped on a rusty nail that went through her shoe and into the bottom of her foot. She thought the incident would just go away, but an infection developed. Jones ended up having to rush into surgery and had three surgeries in total – including an amputation of her right leg above the knee because of the exposure to the rusty nail.
After Jones was jabbed by a rusty nail at Walmart in 2015, she needed to undergo three amputations and is now confined to a wheelchair due to the life-threatening infection that resulted. Because Walmart neglected their responsibility to maintain a safe environment, Jones has been awarded $10 million.
Surgeons first amputated Jones’s toes in an attempt to stop the infection, but it spread regardless. They were forced to keep operating, and eventually had to remove most of her right leg. For six years, Walmart’s negligence has kept Jones stuck in a wheelchair and significantly changed her life. The Anastopoulo Law Firm represents her.
Jones’ legal team proved that Walmart did not take the necessary precautions to ensure aisle safety.
“The weakness of Walmart’s case, among other things, was their failure to produce a video that they claim showed their conforming behavior to a company policy calling for employees to perform regular safety sweeps. No such evidence was presented for the duration of the five-day-long trial,” the law firm stated.
Counsel Roy T. Willey IV continued, “The jury sent a message to Walmart that if you come into Florence County and injure one of their own, they will make sure that person is taken care of. We are forever grateful.”
Though they are saddened by Jones’ death, Walmart still believes that they hold no responsibility in the matter.
“This was a tragic accident, and we are deeply sorry for Ms. April Jones’ injuries. We firmly believe that we were not negligent in this case. While we sympathize with Ms. Jones, we are pleased that the jury found there was no willful or wanton conduct on our part in this case,” the statement read.
The company plans to appeal the decision because they do not believe they should be held responsible for what happened. They also said that they plan to continue working with investigators during their investigation into how this incident occurred.
Walmart isn’t the only one taking care of Jones after her settlements. she also has an additional insurance policy of $400,000 from her previous employer – a subcontractor for Kohler Cabinetry in Florence County, South Carolina. After hearing both sides, the jury decided in favor of the defense’s argument, awarding them this amount.
After a long court battle, Jones was awarded a multimillion-dollar settlement by the jury. However, due to Walmart’s negligence, she has lost her right leg and must now live with a disability.
