Over the past month, at least four individuals have filed slip-and-fall lawsuits against multiple Publix locations in Ocala, with each seeking tens of thousands of dollars in damages.
Three of the lawsuits were filed by attorneys from Orlando-based Morgan & Morgan PA, and the fourth was filed by attorneys from Workman Injury Law, PLLC, which is based in Fort Lauderdale.
The first two lawsuits were filed on March 10 in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court for Marion County on behalf of Angelique M. Sanchez and Melissa L. Wingerter.
Sanchez, who is listed as a “citizen of Florida,” says she was visiting Publix Store #1820 at 9570 SW 62nd Avenue on February 12, 2024. While walking through the produce aisle, Sanchez claims she slipped on the floor due to “what looked to be over-spraying” from Publix’s “produce misting system that had bee sprayed and remained there long enough to mix with produce debris.”
As a result of the incident, Sanchez allegedly sustained injury resulting in “pain and suffering” and the losses are “permanent and continuing within a degree of medical probability.” Sanchez is seeking in excess of $50,000 in damages.
Wingerter’s claim names the same Publix on SW 62nd Avenue. According to her lawsuit, Wingerter was visiting that Publix on May 6, 2023. While she was walking in front of a big freezer, she alleges that she slipped and fell on water. The complaint alleges that the water was probably the byproduct of an ice cube that was left to thaw on the floor.
The complaint alleges that Wingerter fell just a “few feet away” from an employee who was arranging bottles of wine on the shelves adjacent to the freezer aisle (#15).
The lawsuit accuses Publix of negligence in maintaining its floors and seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages.
In the third lawsuit filed by Morgan & Morgan on March 12, attorneys allege that Voldez Scott was visiting the Publix Store #733 at 7578 SE Maricamp Road, Ste. 100, within the Heather Island Plaza, on April 3, 2023. While he was walking in the freezer aisle, Scott allegedly slipped and fell on liquid pooling.
In the fourth and final lawsuit, which was filed on March 25, 2025, attorneys say that their client, Helene Lentini, sustained serious injuries during a slip-and-fall incident that allegedly occurred nearly a year before on March 27, 2024.
During that alleged incident, Lentini was shopping at Publix Store #1477 located at 2575 SW 42nd Street, Suite 101, in the Grand Oaks Town Center in Ocala. While she was walking in an aisle, she allegedly slipped and fell due to a “hazardous, unmarked liquid on the floor at or near the entrance by the shopping cart area of the store.”
Lentini is also seeking damages in excess of $50,000.