William Freis of Plattsmouth, Nebraska man has sued Walmart, saying the failure of an overfilled plastic shopping bag ultimately led to the death of his wife, reports KaalTV.
In the lawsuit, which was transferred to U.S. District Court in Omaha last week, William Freis of Plattsmouth, Neb., claims that Wal-Mart and the makers of its plastic bags are to blame for his wife Lynette's death in 2011, according to the Journal Star.
After going grocery shopping on April 16, 2010 at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bellevue, the Freises claim a cashier put two 42-ounce cans of La Choy and a 2-pound bag of rice in a single plastic bag. Lynette Freis carried the bag out to the parking lot. It broke and one of the La Choy cans fell on her right foot, breaking her big toe and leaving a deep cut.
Freis then developed an infection in the wound, which spread throughout her body despite multiple rounds of antibiotics and two surgeries. She was hospitalized and family lawyer Gage Cobb claims the plastic bag "ultimately resulted in her death on March 12, 2011," reports the Journal Star.
William Freis accused Wal-Mart of negligence for overfilling its bags and failing to train its cashiers on knowing when to double-bag a customer's groceries. Now he is seeking more than $656,000 in medical expenses and funeral and burial costs, plus an unspecified amount for his wife's pain and suffering in a lawsuit against Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; the distributor of its plastic bags, Missouri-based Bunzl Distribution; and the manufacturer, Hilex Poly Co.
Wal-Mart issued a statement Tuesday saying, "Customer safety is a top priority, and we take it seriously any time an injury is reported in one of our stores."
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