BLUEFIELD — A Fayette County couple is suing Family Dollar Stores of West Virginia for injuries sustained at its Gauley Bridge location.
Jessie K. Byrne and Patrick Byrne claim that on March 21, 2020, Family Dollar operated a store in Gauley Bridge, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Immediately adjacent to the entry of the store is an enclosure where two registers are located and one of the registers is located immediately next to the doorway, parallel to the exterior wall, facing the entryway, while the other one is behind and to the left of the first register, facing the interior of the store.
"Register 2 would not operate without Register 1 being operational," the complaint states. "Since at least fall of 2016, the power outlet underneath Register 1 did not work. As a result, the only functioning outlet was on the wall to the left of Register 1."
The Byrnes claim that because of the non-operational outlet, cords had to be run from Register 1 to the wall on its left so that Register 1 could be turned on and be used.
Family Dollar management recognized that these cords were in the walkways where employees had to work and management further recognized that the cords presented a tripping hazard for the employees.
In fact, due to their own experiences and the complaints of multiple employees, management of the store submitted one or more work orders to Family Dollar requesting that the outlet underneath Register 1 be fixed so that the tripping hazard could be eliminated.
Jessie Byrne claims she was working the register in March 2020, when her foot got caught in the cords underneath the register and she fell on her right hip.
The injuries Jessie Byrne sustained when she tripped included a right intertrochanteric hip fracture requiring operative fixation and a left sub-capital femur fracture which required left hemiarthroplasty, according to the suit.
Jessie Byrne claims she was left with permanent scarring and 22 percent permanent partial disability.
The Byrnes claim the defendant violated West Virginia code and caused Jessie Byrnes' injuries and Patrick Byrnes' loss of consortium.
The Byrnes are seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are represented by David A. Bosak of Bailey Javins & Carter in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 5:22-cv-0002
