Madison County resident Dorothy M. Ellis, through her attorneys, Pratt & Tobin, P.C., has filed an official complaint against Zips Car Wash for indirectly causing her injury.
On June 3, 2021, Ellis visited Zips Car Wash and approached the shared vacuums to clean her vehicle when she said she tripped due to the poor condition of the sidewalks maintained by the company. The complaint specifically refers to the cracks and/or an improperly-placed junction box.
Zips Car Wash has now been accused of failing to meet its expected duty of care to Ellis and of being negligent in several respects, including the following; failing to maintain its sidewalks in a safe and reasonable manner; placing a junction box near a high traffic area and creating an unsafe and hazardous condition; failing to warn customers of the dangerous condition posed by the cracks in the sidewalk; failing to implement and enforce adequate safety policies and procedures related to the maintenance of sidewalks; and failing to provide adequate training to its employees regarding safe maintenance of sidewalks.
The document states that, due to the aforementioned failures by Zips Car Wash, Ellis sustained severe and permanent injuries that are expected to remain troublesome in the future. Ellis is also expected to spend large sums of money on medical expenses, and she will also be unable to perform her usual activities and be at risk of losing income.
Ellis is seeking a sum in excess of $50,000 in addition to whichever compensation the court finds appropriate.