MARTINSBURG – A woman is suing Wal-mart Stores after she claims she was injured when she slipped in a puddle of water and fell.
John Does #1-5, who are Wal-mart general store managers, managers on duty and employees on duty, were also named as defendants in the suit.
On May 5, 2015, Maria Guzman Mejia was shopping at Wal-mart in Martinsburg and was walking down an aisle of the store when she slipped in a puddle of water located on the floor and fell, causing her to sustain physical injuries, according to a complaint filed April 25 in Berkeley Circuit Court and removed to federal court on May 24.
Mejia claims the puddle of water was a hidden hazard and danger and was not an open and obvious hazard or danger.
At the time of her fall, Mejia was not a trespasser on the property and that the defendants had exclusive control of the premises, according to the suit.
Mejia claims the defendants breached their duty to exercise ordinary care by failing to keep and maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition and failed to fix hidden dangers and/or defects on their property.
The defendants were negligent and caused Mejia’s injuries, according to the suit.
Mejia is seeking compensatory damages. She is being represented by S. Brooks West II and Nathan J. Chill of West Law Firm.
Wal-mart is represented by Joseph L. Caltrider and Joshua A. Johnson of Bowles Rice.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number: 3:17-cv-00063