Cleveland woman wins $1.3 million lawsuit against Giant Eagle for motorized shopping cart injury

[TexasTowelie]

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A jury awarded $1.3 million a Cleveland woman struck by a motorized shopping cart at the Brook Park Giant Eagle.

Barbara Rieger was struck in December 2012 by Ruth Kurka, a fellow customer who lost control of the motorized shopping cart she used to get around the store, according to the lawsuit filed in 2014.

The impact threw the then-71-year-old Rieger about four feet. She struck her head against a shelf display and suffered neck and head injuries, the lawsuit says.

In the complaint, attorneys Thomas Wilson and John Wargo accused the store of failing to provide customers with the appropriate amount of instruction on how to use the cart.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2016/10/cleveland_woman_wins_12_millio.html

[Sherman A1]

1. Having done some 43 years in the business

I know that those carts and their drivers can be "challenging" at times to other shoppers, store employees and more than one cardboard shipper display through the years. I was never hit, but came close a few times and learned to keep my distance from them whenever possible.

[Travis_0004]

2. I wonder if the response to this lawsuit will be to get rid of the electric wheelchairs

That would be a hige step backwards for people with disabilities, but if the precident is set for 1 million dollar lawsuits it may be the easiest solution.

[No Vested Interest]

3. Or have the electric wheelchair user sign some kind of paper/contract

releasing the store from responsibility.
Or have the electric wheelchair user acknowledge in writing his/her own responsibility for any damage that might be done. Paper to be kept on file at store, etc.

However, realistically, such means would not take the store off the hook, since the own and operate the vehicle, and those who sue always go after the deep pockets - i.e., the store rather than the individual.

[Travis_0004]

4. I think that is too much work.

You have to then lock the wheelchairs up and have an employee watch them sign the contract, then go unlock it.

Getting rid of them would be much easier.

[No Vested Interest]

5. It would be a lot of work. However, some stores not only highly value

their senior shoppers, they depend on seniors for a large part of their income.

A grocery where I frequently shop is located adjacent to a large senior housing complex. You can be sure it is important to keep those shoppers coming back.

Hopefully, the accident described in the OP is a wild card unlikely to be repeated in most cases.