More than two years after a woman was pricked by a hypodermic needle her daughter picked up in a Target parking lot, a jury has awarded her more than $4.6 million.
According to WLTX-TV, the South Carolina woman’s lawyer had offered to settle the case before it went to trial for $12,000, but Target rejected that offer. A jury decided on Thursday that she was due a lot more than that, handing down an award of $4,618,500.
In May 2014, the woman and her daughter had just gotten out of their car in a Target parking lot in Anderson, SC, when the eight-year-old picked up the needle. The woman swatted it out of her hand and that action sent the needle into her right palm, court documents say.
She says she went into the store and reported the injury to a Target worker, who later noted in a report that the woman “seemed worried.”
She was tested for HIV and hepatitis at the hospital, and prescribed medication due to the risk of contracting HIV. She’s tested negative for both thus far, documents show, but the HIV drugs made her sick and caused her to be bedridden. Her husband had to take time off work to help her, her lawyer says.
“When we started this, we were just trying to get Target to make my client whole, to pay for her medical bills and the time that her husband had to take off work,” her attorney, Joshua Hawkins, told WLTX. “We tried to be reasonable and not take this to trial. But Target took a really hard stance on it… and I think the jury sent a message.”
A Target spokeswoman told WLTX that the company disagrees with the jury’s decision.
“The final damages award has not yet been determined by the Court,” she told the news station via email. “Target is currently considering post-trial motions and appeal options.”
She adds that Target is all about customer safety.
“Our guests are at the center of everything we do, and our commitment to creating a safe and secure shopping environment in our stores is unwavering,” she said. “As a part this commitment to safety, we have robust procedures, policies and trainings in place to ensure that our stores are safe places to shop and work.”
South Carolina woman awarded $4.6 million in Target lawsuit [WLTX]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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