Pursuant Health is also named as a defendant in the suit.
On April 19, 2014, Phillip W. Lawhon entered the Walmart store in Huntington and, while in the store, he stopped to check his blood pressure on the SoloHealth station located in the store, according to a complaint filed March 18 in Cabell Circuit Court and removed to federal court on April 19.
Lawhon claims he had used the machine, or a similar model, on several prior occasions without incident and he believed he was familiar with how it was operated or was supposed to operate.
The machine did not operate properly and the machine’s blood pressure cuff would not stop inflating and/or tightening on his left arm, according to the suit. The machine did not respond when he pressed the “stop” button.
Lawhon claims an unknown person he believed to be an employee of the store’s pharmacy, unplugged the machine and the blood pressure cuff deflated.
When the machine finally released the pressure and the plaintiff was able to free himself, he stood up and lost consciousness, according to the suit.
Lawhon claims when he regained consciousness, he was told an ambulance had been called and was on its way and he was transported to Cabell Huntington Hospital via Cabell County EMS.
As a direct and proximate result of the incident, Lawhon sustained serious and permanent bodily injury and he suffered a seizure and sustained nerve damage to his left arm, according to the suit.
Walmart is represented by Heather M. Noel and Sara E. Brown of MacCorkle PLLC.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 3:16-cv-03732