PHILADELPHIA – A woman who says she suffered permanent and lasting injuries when she was knocked over by a restocking cart in a Kohl’s department store, has initiated legal action against the retail entity for compensatory and punitive damages.
Nancy Case of Havertown filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 7 versus Kohl’s Department Stores, of Menomonee Falls, Wis.
On Nov. 11, 2015, Case went to the Kohl’s store in Havertown to do early Christmas shopping and during that visit, went to check the price of an item at a price scanning kiosk. As she entered the aisle to find the nearest such kiosk, Case says she violently struck and bowled over to the ground by a restocking cart being pushed by an unknown Kohl’s employee. The employee asked if she was all right and apologized for knocking her over, the suit says.
Case claims she got up and asked the young male employee whether he had seen her, and he claimed to have not – given what Case says was the amount of upright vacuum cleaner boxes stacked up on the restocking cart, preventing any employee pushing it from seeing anyone in its path. Additionally, Case alleges the employee in question was pushing the cart at a high rate of speed and when, combined with the obstructed view of the cart, led to her being violently collided with and knocked over.
Case then filed an incident report with the Kohl’s store manager on duty at the time.
Though faced with a swollen right knee at the time of the accident, Case hoped she would recover quickly, but states she found lasting damage had been done to her right side and right leg, the suit says. After a battery of doctor’s visits, tests and physical therapy completed over the next 18 to 24 months, Case says it was learned that she had likely damage in the nerve governing her right leg, which accounted for the prominent weakness in her right leg and ankle.
Case states that these injuries now affect her daily quality of life, have negatively affected her level of activity in retirement and have also proven to have a detrimental effect on her ability to be the primary caregiver for her 96 year-old mother.
For a single count of negligence and recklessness, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and in excess of the arbitration limit of this court, inclusive of compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, costs and all other compensation that this court deems fair and proper.
The plaintiff is represented by Michael Gehring and Dennis C. McAndrews of McAndrews Law Offices, in Berwyn.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 171100483
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com