CHARLESTON – A Handley woman says she was injured during a trip to Kroger.
Pamela A. Johnson filed her complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Kroger Limited Partnership I.
According to her complaint, Johnson was visiting the Kroger store at The Crossings Shopping Center in Elkview on April 5, 2019, with a friend.
As they were leaving, her friend said she began to feel weak and lightheaded because of low blood sugar and told Johnson she needed to rest. Johnson helped her friend to a display of a porch swing that was outside the store.
After making sure her friend was OK, Johnson decided to get her vehicle and pick up her friend in front of the store.
“As plaintiff proceeded to stand up and step off of the platform housing the floor-display porch swing, a portion of the platform abruptly gave way, causing her to fall face-first onto the blacktop,” the complaint states. “Despite her efforts to catch herself with her right hand, plaintiff was unable to mitigate the force of the fall and landed on her knees, right hand, right shoulder and face.”
Johnson says she was disoriented from the impact to her face, and her prescription glasses were irreparably broken.
She says Kroger and its employees did not properly secure the platform or properly mark it to alert patrons of potential hazards. Also, she says there was no handrail for patrons to steady themselves.
Johnson says a Kroger employee removed the unsecured portion of the platform while a manager completed an incident report. She also says Kroger “promptly removed the entire floor display and platform.”
She says Kroger is negligent, careless and reckless in assembling the display, and she says the company had a duty to maintain the store in a reasonably safe condition.
Johnson seeks compensatory damages for medical and other expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, annoyance, inconvenience, loss of capacity to enjoy life and property damage. She also seeks court costs and other relief.
She is Charles M. Johnstone and Lucas H. Rubenstein of Johnstone & Gabhart LLP in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 20-C-532
