Facts

Ross Dress For Less uses a shopping cart that has a vertical pole attached to it at the handle to prevent people from leaving the store with the cart. On the day of the incident, plaintiff Joanne Durham, age 62, was injured when a cart with a pole knocked a heavy metal object off the shelf that fell and split plaintiff's head open.

Defendant employees admitted in deposition that the pole is dangerous because the poles frequently knock merchandise off of shelves, which causes injuries. This has been occurring for many years.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that defendant created and maintained a knowingly dangerous instrumentality in its stores putting profits before customer safety.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant claimed that the poles are safe and plaintiff was not operating her cart in a safe fashion. Further, plaintiff's injury was overstated.

Injuries

Plaintiff suffered a 1/4-inch cut on her forehead requiring sutures, post-concussive syndrome, neck pain and chronic headaches requiring pain management.

Result

The parties settled for a confidential sum.

Other Information

After discovery revealed defendant's admissions that the poles on the carts were dangerous, Hon. Barbara Lane allowed plaintiff to amend her complaint to add a prayer for punitive damages. FILING DATE: April 23, 2010.