A woman has sued an Ocala Wawa and a store manager, claiming she suffered significant injuries after she slipped on an unaddressed liquid hazard inside the convenience store.
Kelly McVeigh filed the lawsuit against Wawa Florida, LLC, and a “Jane Doe” defendant identified as the manager, in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on May 1.
According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred in the early morning hours of March 31, at the Wawa located at 1001 South Pine Avenue in Ocala.
McVeigh claims she was inside the store when she slipped and fell on a “transitory foreign substance” left on the floor near the drink coolers. The complaint outlines separate counts against the corporate entity and the individual store manager.
Against Wawa, McVeigh’s attorneys allege that the company breached its non-delegable duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition. The lawsuit accuses Wawa of failing to inspect the floors around the cooler, failing to clean up the wet substance, and failing to warn customers of the unreasonably dangerous condition.
Furthermore, the suit claims the corporation failed to assign adequate staff to monitor the floors, failed to properly train employees on safety inspections, and failed to follow its own corporate safety policies.
In the second count, the lawsuit holds the store manager personally liable, arguing that by virtue of her management position, she owed a direct duty to the public to supervise employees and ensure the premises were maintained safely.
As a direct result of the fall, McVeigh claims to have suffered permanent and significant injuries, including scarring, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity, and ongoing medical and hospitalization expenses. She is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.