During a tornado, a man that desperately tried to leave a Wal-Mart to get home to his family three miles away, and in an area not threatened by the tornado, was forced to stay inside the store and died. His family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Joplin, Mo. store manager and the Arkansas-based corporation for negligence that lead to the man's death, as reported by the Joplin Globe.
On May 22, 2011, S.K., 62, was locked inside the Wal-Mart Supercenter #59 on Range Line Road, directed to stay put in an insecure area and died as a direct result of his injuries.
The tornado, and EF-5, killed 161 people in all.
His family filed suit on July 31 in Jasper County Circuit Court. The suit was transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on September 14. The attorneys for the family are both Joplin-based, Ed Hershewe and Ashley Norman.
The family and their attorneys were not available for comment.
Randy Hargrove, Wal-Mart Stores director of national media relations released a statement that read, "We extend our deepest sympathy to Mr. (S.K.'s) family. This was a horrible tragedy for Joplin. Wal-Mart is committed to this community, and we have worked hard to help rebuild after this tragic event. We have protocols in place for severe weather, and the safety plan our associates implemented helped save lives. We stand behind our associates and how they handled this natural disaster."
The suit states that at approximately 5 p.m. on May 22 S.K. called his wife to tell her he was going to Wal-Mart and in another 17 minutes Tornado sirens rang out in Joplin.
According to the lawsuit, "Sometime after the conversation with his wife, but before approximately 5:24 p.m., (S.K.) attempted to leave the store to return home. ... (S.K.) was forced to stay in the store and (was) directed to an unsafe/improper location."
The suit further attests that the store locked its doors – succinctly imprisoning customers and keeping out emergency rescue workers.
The charge of negligence against the store manager and the corporation is due to several factors that are outlined in the lawsuit and include the location of the store was in a high-risk area for tornados, the store was "not constructed properly", there was no "proper emergency plan in place at the store, including a lack of signage and identified safe areas/tornado refuge areas", store customers were told to wait out the tornado in "unsafe areas within the store" and once the sirens rang there was further risk of violent storms.
The suit states, "(The) defendant negligently caused (S.K.) to be exposed to the dangerous storm, debris and water. Defendant's actions and deliberate decisions negligently caused (S.K.) to receive severe injuries resulting in his death. Each negligent act by defendant, and those by and through its employees, including defendant (the store manager), was a direct and proximate cause of the death of (S.K.)."
Monetary damages sought are yet to be specified for pain and suffering, loss of S.K.'s income, funeral and medical expenses.
If you believe that your loved one died due to the negligence or another party contact a personal injury lawyer to file a wrongful death lawsuit right away!