A Marion County woman has filed a premises liability lawsuit against a local supermarket chain, alleging she suffered severe injuries after she tripped over a trash can immediately upon entering the store’s public restroom.
Saderricka Dempsey, filed the civil complaint against The Winn-Dixie Company, LLC, doing business as Harveys Supermarket #1711, located at 3435 N. Pine Ave., Suite 300, in Ocala.
In March, that location was converted into a Winn-Dixie.
According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred on the afternoon of February 16. After shopping inside the Harveys Supermarket, Dempsey claims that she walked toward the store’s public restrooms.
The complaint states that as she pushed the bathroom door open and stepped through the threshold, she tripped and fell over an “inconspicuous, unattended, unmarked, not easily discernable” trash can that was approximately two feet tall.
The lawsuit alleges the trash can was improperly placed directly in the entryway, completely blocking the pedestrian pathway into the bathroom.
Dempsey’s legal counsel argues that Winn-Dixie owed its customers a non-delegable duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition and that placing an unmarked obstacle directly in a blind doorway created a severe, foreseeable tripping hazard.
The lawsuit accuses the supermarket of failing to comply with a vast array of building and safety regulations intended to protect pedestrians. The complaint cites alleged violations of the Florida Building Code, the Florida Fire Prevention Code, the International Property Maintenance Code, and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces.
Specifically, the suit references ASTM F-1637, which mandates that objects should not protrude into a walkway to create a contact hazard, and that any object lower than three feet must be made “visually prominent.”
As a direct result of the fall, Dempsey claims she suffered permanent bodily injury, disability, significant scarring, and mental anguish, alongside ongoing medical expenses. She is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and she is demanding a jury trial.