Walmart has been ordered to pay millions of dollars to the family of the boy killed after a retail incident.
Tamika Springer sued the retail giant for creating a “dangerous and unsafe condition” at their Fort Lauderdale store after her son, Saiy’yah Allen-Bey, then seven, walked into a metal stock cart and hit his head on a walkway bumped. .
Springerfrom Miami Gardens, Florida, claimed that her son died in May 2023 after suffering severe head injuries and seizures for two and a half years as a result of the accident.
On day five of the civil trial, the company said the child caused his own injuries by being “inattentive” and not paying attention to where he was going.
On Friday, a jury awarded Allen-Bey’s family $2.7 million, as a spokesperson for Leeder Law — the firm representing his loved ones — said the “verdict is a bittersweet victory.”
The jury initially awarded the child’s family $9 million, but later determined that the store was only 30 percent responsible for the boy’s injuries.
Each of his parents was also found 30 percent to blame for his injuries, while his estate was found to be 10 percent responsible, the spokesperson said. Law and crime.
“This verdict is a bittersweet victory. Nothing can bring back this beloved child and talented artist. Saiy-Yah loved to draw and create art with pride and precision and this decision confirms that his life was priceless,” Thomas H. Leeder, the family’s attorney, said in a statement.
The family of Saiy’yah Allen-Bey, the boy killed after a shopping incident at Walmart in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has received $2.7 million from the retail giant
Allen-Bey, then seven, ran into a metal supply cart and hit his head on a walkway in November 2020. (Image: Stock Image)
“Walmart’s negligence stole a future full of incredible promise from a young artist. We hope this verdict is a wake-up call for companies around the world: prioritize safety and follow your own safety rules, otherwise you will face the consequences.”
After the verdict, the retailer said: ‘We sympathize with every family dealing with loss. The jury found that most of the fault did not lie with Walmart. Under current Florida law, Walmart would not have any financial responsibility for the verdict.
“We await a decision on a directed verdict and are considering all our post-trial options,” they added, referring to the state’s new system of comparative debt law.
It was changed last year after the state passed a law barring plaintiffs in negligence lawsuits from recovering damages if they are found more than 50 percent at fault for their injuries.
The law firm’s spokesperson told the newspaper that the new law does not apply to this case “because the lawsuit was filed before tort reform.”
Walmart previously claimed that the company “had no liability for the incident,” their legal team wrote in a post request for summary proceedings.
“Walmart is not liable for the incident because the supply cart was so open and obvious [Allen-Bey] he might reasonably have been expected to discover it and protect himself (by simply walking around it).
‘[Allen-Bey] failed to use his senses and walked while looking back, thus failing to observe the open, obvious and innocuous supply vehicle,” the company added.
The jury initially awarded the child’s family $9 million, but later determined that the store was only 30 percent responsible for the boy’s injuries. (Photo: Allen-Bey with his family)
Springer initially filed a complaint in 2022 seeking more than $30,000 in damages for the store’s alleged negligence, which she said caused her infant son to suffer extreme pain, mental anguish and loss of the ability to take his life enjoy.
The lawsuit alleged that Allen-Bey — who was later diagnosed with epilepsy — fell to the floor after hitting his head and suffered his first seizure while still in the store.
The court heard testimony during the trial from the boy’s 13-year-old sister, Miharah Allen, and attorneys for Walmart.
Allen, who was present when it happened, told the court about the attacks her brother suffered in the years after the accident.
“He shook a lot and looked in another direction, and then he shook and made noise as well,” Allen said.
“Every time he ate, he would throw up, throw up the food or use the bathroom on himself,” she added.
But her testimony came just as Walmart’s attorney was questioning whether or not the accident was the reason for his diagnosis and eventual death three years later.
The motion filed by the company in June of this year noted that a stock cart is not so inherently dangerous as to not constitute a hazardous condition.
They also mentioned how an angle of the store’s surveillance footage depicted the boy running out of frame and down the aisle seconds before the accident occurred – despite the accident itself not being visible.
The court heard testimony during the trial from the boy’s 13-year-old sister, Miharah Allen (pictured), and lawyers for Walmart
Their filing also noted how Allen previously testified and told her brother to pay attention to the cart while he looked back, but it was too late.
‘Here unfortunately [Allen-Bey] was inattentive and failed to walk around the handles of a supply cart that were noticed by his sister, who was not walking with her head turned.”
Despite blaming the dead child, the motion for summary judgment was ultimately denied by the court, Newsweek reported.
Allen-Bey was described in his obituary as a “king who deserved the world but was not ready for it.”
He was also painted as a young boy with extraordinary talent in art.
“He often made origami birds and drawings for our friends and even for random people he came into contact with,” the obituary said.
‘His eyes and smile lit up the entire universe! He did everything with the utmost pride and precision. We all told him how brilliant and genius he is and that his talents will only continue to grow.”