A plaintiff in a personal injury suit against Kmart is asking the retailer to admit there were no signs on a store shelf revealing the weight of a box containing a turkey fryer.
Elisha N. Naumann, who sued Kmart last November in Madison County Circuit Court claiming a 50-pound turkey fryer hit her in the head, also wants the store to admit there were no signs informing customers not to attempt to remove a turkey fryer from a shelf on their own.
Naumann filed the set of requests to admit on May 3.
She is represented by Bradley Lakin of SL Chapman in St. Louis.
Naumann’s suit claims the incident occurred on Nov. 21, 2010, at the Kmart on Homer Adams Parkway in Alton.
She is asking that Kmart also admit that there were no signs on the store shelf informing customers to request help in removing items, that no employee witnessed the incident, that no employee offered to help her and that no employee told her not to attempt to remove the turkey fryer.
In addition, she wants the store to admit that it had warning signs available in the store at the time the incident occurred.
Naumann also asks that Kmart admit that a customer who witnessed the incident was asked to and did fill out incident paperwork.
In its March 20 response to the suit, Kmart says Naumann contributed to her own injuries.
Kmart attorney Donald L. O’Keefe of Pitzer Snodgrass in St. Louis says Naumann failed to keep a careful look out of the conditions, failed to request assistance when removing merchandise from the shelf, failed to heed Kmart employee’s warning on the day of the incident, assumed the risk of removing merchandise from an overhead shelf without assistance, and refused to allow the defendant’s employees to assist her in the removal of merchandise from an overhead shelf.
Naumann seeks damages in excess of $50,000 for injuries that include severe bruising, contusion, wrenching, straining, spraining, tearing, twisting and pulling of the bones, nerves, tissues, tendons, ligaments and muscles of the head, neck, shoulder, back, and spine, and all musculoskeletal areas adjacent thereto..
A status conference is set at 9 a.m. on June 26.
Circuit Judge William Mudge presides.
Madison County case number 12-L-1861
Plaintiff in turkey fryer injury suit seeks admissions from Kmart
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