CAHOKIA – A Missouri woman filed a negligence lawsuit after slipping and falling in a Dollar Tree store and claiming the store failed to warn her of a dangerous hazard.
Sharon Fields of Hannibal, Missouri claims she was seriously injured after slipping on a bubble bath soap mixture at the Dollar Tree store on Camp Jackson Road in Cahokia in May, 2018.
Fields filed the lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Dollar Tree Stores Inc. claiming the company's employees had a duty to make sure the aisles are "safe and clear." Dollar Tree did not respond to requests for comment from the Record.
According to the complaint, there was a "clear, bubble bath soap mixture" in the middle of the aisle that remained on the floor for an "extended period of time." The suit also claimed there were no signs or warnings close to the spillage to reveal the potential danger.
In her lawsuit, Fields said that after entering the store, she slipped and fell on a floor that was in a "slick condition unsuitable for walking due to the presence of the soap mixture."
Fields claimed she "suffered severe injuries" to her legs, coccyx, hip, pelvis and back.
The lawsuit said that after the fall, Fields has spent significant amounts of money on medical care and treatment, which has led to "a large number of bills," and she will need "medical care and treatment for the rest of her life."
Fields is accusing Dollar Tree of negligence as the company "owed a duty of care" to maintain its premises in a "reasonably safe condition" that prevents members of the public from being injured.
The suit said the company failed to post warnings and failed to "properly inspect, monitor, control, and/or maintain aisles of the store."
Fields is seeking in excess of $50,000 for the injuries and punitive damages to punish defendant and make sure Dollar Tree and its employees do not partake in wrongdoing in the future.
Fields is represented by Joseph A. Ott of the Ott Law Firm in St, Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case no. 19-L-484.