“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,” a news release from the Anastopoulo said. “No such evidence was presented for the duration of the five-day-long trial.”
Trial counsel Roy T. Willey IV added, “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.”
The law firm representing Jones revealed that she had been in a wheelchair for over 6 years.
Thanks to the $10 million verdict, Jones will be able to purchase a prosthetic and make her home more readily accessible.
In reaction to the verdict, Walmart released a statement saying:
“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.”
AWM reported more details on the story:
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.
In addition to the millions of dollars awarded from Walmart, Jones was also taken care of by an additional $400,000 insurance policy that she had through her employer at the time – a subcontractor for Kohler Cabinetry in Florence County, South Carolina. The jury decided on this amount because they agreed with the defense counsel’s argument that this policy should be included and considered as part of the case.
The jury ultimately decided on a multi-million-dollar settlement for Jones, who will now have to live with her disability after she lost most of her right leg due to Walmart’s negligence.