Injured in Walmart & treated like I was to blame!

I was an employee there I broke my elbow and they wrote me up because
"i knew not to do it" and then got fired for "refusing" to do my job i
couldnt do to begin with. so not all employees r bad at walmart, some
suffer just as bad. and remember when its busy atleast u get to leave
we have to stay or get fired.

Call 1800 walmart. you can give then all the details and they will
order the store manager to address the issue and possibly apologize. I
had my own kind of danger at my local Walmart when a teen on a scooter
nearly knocked me over. The scooter display wasn't anywhere near where
I was. The asst manager said she didn't have the power to ask them to
stop. This lady asked me to leave the store because apparently I
caused a scene when I screamed because I lost my balance and was
surprised to be bumped like that.

I will never step foot in a walmart again. I have never seen anything
like that happen at Target and plan on shopping there from now on. I'm
glad you are okay after that. Online shopping is definitely safer!

I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart better yet, I refuse to walk into
Wal-Mart and whenever I hear a complaint about Wal-Mart I say...


IT IS WAL-MART, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?

Holly: Any new word on this issue?

You had witnesses, you were injured whether it was due to another
customers negligence or poor stocking of the shelves.

Fact is, from what I gather in your post, they never once offered to
fill out an accident report. If any type of accident occurs on store
property, they are REQUIRED to do so in ANY instance no matter WHAT or
WHOS fault it was.

Grab a lawyer, bring him to the store with you, watch the manager sh*t
his pants.

I'm so curious what kind of spin they will put on the actions of their
staff.

Please post the response!

If it was serious enough that OP was concerned about their physical
wellness, and the store employees are refusing to assist you, then
THAT is the time to call the police and/or ambulance. Since OP
shouldn't have been moved, one of OP's friends could have used a cell
phone or a pay phone to call 911 and then WAIT for help.

If it was bad enough that OP didn't feel they should be walking, a
motorized cart doesn't cut it. It was time for some serious medical
attention and legal assistance. The time to admonish the store for
their lack of policies regarding an injured customer (Even if it's the
customer's own fault) should come later AFTER legal aid has been
involved. At this point, even if WalMart had videos of the incident,
it would be OP's word VS theirs, and doubt they will follow up with OP
or change any of their policies.

Note: I wouldn't have allowed the OP a cart either in their state
with a possible head injury. I would, however, have offered to call
an ambulance or other authority for them.

There is no reason they couldn't have retrieved a cart to escort you
out of the store. I would think you would have wanted to leave after
sustaining an injury severe enough to cause you to bleed.

In all likelihood they assumed you weren't seriously injured because
you insisted on continuing to shop and went to the trouble of going to
the front to ascertain the number. I fear they didn't take your
claims of "dizzyness" too seriously.

They absolutely were beyond discourteous. Cursing is never allowed.

Anytime you hit your head and pass out 911 should be called and an
ambulance dispatched. You could have a concussion or worse a bleed on
the brain. Also if you move with a spinal injury you may make it
worse! Flat out whoever was shopping with you should have called 911!
And you do not move until they put you on a backboard and place a
cervical collar on your neck. Usually in large stores like Walmart
they have videos of what goes on in the store anyways. They should
also be able to run the tape and see the accident happen right on
tape. You can also put an ad in the paper if you didn't get the name
of the other customer that saw the incident. Hitting your head and
losing consciousness is a very serious matter! I should know I work
as a nurse and I fainted once, fell backwards and received a large
laceration on the side of my head which required staples as well as
having a possible Grand-mal seizure from the force of hitting the
floor. That buys you 6 months of NO DRIVING to make sure you don't
have another seizure! Hitting your head is CRITICAL!

Seriously. If I were dizzy and bleeding, you can bet my butt would
have stayed parked on that floor and I would have had someone call an
ambulance. If the manager tried to make you move, you could scream
out for security or dial 911. It was an emergency after all. You
fell and might have had a concussion.

Maybe I am overly cautious. That whole thing a couple years ago with
Natasha Richardson and then Gary Coleman, both dying after a smack to
the head, has made me take a head blow very seriously.

that I don't get this at all. If my memory serves, WalMart is much
like Target in that they have surveillance cameras watching
everything. It seems like 1) the cameras would have caught the punks
screwing around the aisle over and causing the accident and 2) it
would have also captured this manager acting like a complete jerk as
well. Can't imagine a major company like that wanting THAT image
going viral on YouTube!

I agree that companies are sue-phobic and that's their choice if they
feel they need to be a little less compassionate to avoid being
blamed, but documenting and contacting authorities was always the way
things were handled at Target. Our Assets Protection folks would have
been right there, offering limited first aid and taking a statement,
not cussing out the guest and blaming them for the incident.

Sadly, you may just need to find another store to shop at. Bed, Bath
and Beyond is very nice and there's always Target or KMart.

Again, another reason not to shop at walmart (or sams club) I have
not entered anything related to walmart or walmart since the early
eighties Go shop at target, but remember if you need to return
something Target stands by their return policy.

Overall the store in target is clean and the walmarts that I
encountered were not the reasons continue to go on and on, BTW you
will never be able to "train" employees who are undercompensated.

I doubt that you will hear from them, but I sincerely hope you do.
You were treated horribly.

I don't know why they were so worried about trying to cover for the
store or themselves. Best thing to do in this situation is...

1.) "Are you okay?"
2.) "Do you need an ambulance?"
3.) If not, "Come with us so we can apply basic first aid and fill out
an incident report."

My company does all that (basically) even if it is clearly not the
store's fault (like if someone falls down in the parking lot, falls in
the store on non-slippery surface, falls down the escalator, etc).

The only people that should worry after that is the store general
manager, loss prevention or asset protection, and the company lawyers.
When you are a front line employee, your only concern is for the
customer and then the correction of whatever led to the accident.

Hope you are doing okay and got your self checked out at a hospital.
Whenever you lose consciousness, even briefly, that is cause for
concern. I also hope that Wal-mart contacts you so they can get to the
bottom of the situation.

This feedback should be a wake up call for WalMart to put together a
procedure for managers to follow in these types of incidents. There
should be a consistent method of recording accidents and incidents
that occur in the store such as an accident report, along with
instructions as to how much assistance the store can provide due to
legal or insurance company restrictions. It should not be up to the
customer to do all the work. The manager should have been helpful and
courteous to the best of her abilities, limited only by company
procedures.

Heck, one time my dad was trying on dress shirts at Macy's and poked
himself with a pin. He asked for a band-aid, and had to fill out an
incident report for that. It was sent in to corporate and they sent
him a gift card as compensation on an unsolicted basis.

I worked for WalMart for a brief period of time while in College. The
main rule is to never say, "I'm sorry." This admits fault and can
create a situation in which the store is responsible. How's that for
a CYA mentality? However, they do have protocol in place for caring
for injuries on site.

My assumption is the cut was from falling on the floor, not the
bedding that fell on your head. They do have a first aid kit and
could have supplied you with materials if needed. Also, if the fall
was that bad, the manager should have called for medical attention to
prevent a lawsuit.

I would keep trying to call corporate. If nothing else, have a friend
buy a pack of gum and there should be the name and number of someone
to call. At the very least the store number will be posted.

If all else fails, cut and paste this posting and go to this website:

http://walmartstores.com/contactus/feedback.aspx

It is the customer service part of Walmart.com that allows you to
share your shopping experience

I completely agree with you. I think you were treated horribly. (And
before someone comes along and says that a store can get sued for
providing assistance to a customer, I will once again state that in
all my years of retail NOT ONCE was I told not to offer assistance to
an injured customer because of liability to the store.)

As someone below said, you weren't asking for the moon. You were
asking for a little assistance...that's all.

Not doubting your story, I believe the bedding landed on your head,
but where did the blood come from? Bedding is packaged in soft
packages with fabric inside. Do you have a medical condition that
would cause a cut from a soft package falling from about 2 ft above
your head?

Sadly, in our litigious society, stores and their employees are aware
that people will cause injuries to themselves in order to collect
bucks, of course not saying that this happened in this case as I was
not there but just trying to look at it from the employees
perspective.

i haven't read the other replies yet but...


personally i think you should have called the police right then and
there.


because regardless of what walmart did or said... the other teens who
were horsing around had injured you.

"Hello, police? Yes, I'm at Walmart at ***. There's a group of teens
horsing around, shoving each other and shelves. I've already been hit
in the head by some of the crap they're shoving around and I'm very
dizzy."


cos no matter what the manager says... he or she cannot stop the
police from coming in to investigate, or provide assistance to someone
with a head injury. nor can they stop you from filing a police
report.

OP:

I would encourage you to SUE WALMART. They have deep pockets and,
based on your letter, they are clearly in the wrong and have liability
relating to this.

Plus, chances are you'll never get to a courtroom. Walmart will settle
and you'll get some cash.

KA-CHING! :)

Best wishes for a speedy, healthy recovery.....and my deepest
encouragement to place Walmart's feet directly over an open flame.

Wow that female Walmart employee is the definition of the word
"pathetic".

I guess she prefers to be an ox tilling the plantation master's field
ceaselessly and without complaint....rather than being an independent
human being who makes her own decisions, protects herself and her
friends and family, and refuses to be mistreated or brain-washed by a
capitalist pig of an employer.

I really despise people that identify with their jobs personally and
hold them close to their chest like this female Walmart
employee...especially when they're low-paying, crummy, unappreciated
jobs - like almost all of the jobs at Walmart.

What a loser and what a lame shill for her crummy, worthless employer
- Walmart.

What the heck does she care if the OP sued Walmart or not??? It's not
like SHE'D have to pay anything for the lawsuit...

"I've worked retail, I know that by law you are required to provide me
with this information upon request.
I would like to see this law.
Thats all I'm going to say for now.

Yes, you were treated in a horrible manner.

But then why on earth would you want to continue shopping there and
give them your money? And if you're dizzy from the head injury, you
don't get on a motorized cart (thanks for risking other shoppers'
safety!). YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR.

Perhaps the manager felt if you were well enough to continue shopping,
your injuries were not serious. If you had a serious cut, or you felt
really dizzy, it seems you would want to seek medical attention.

Does a store have to provide last names, first aid kits? I didn't
know that.

It is hard to know exactly what was said as this situation escalated,
and why, for example, the manager would accuse you of threatening an
employee.

The manager pointed out where the toll free number is, but you didn't
accept that in addition to telling them what the law requires. True,
he should have had better control of himself in the face of this
"disagreement." You say you remained calm and didn't throw a hissy
fit, but that you were "pissed!"

I bet a lawyer could get that number.

I hope you went to the hospital or a doctor for your injury.

1) to make sure your all right, anytime you lose conciencesness
(?spelling) you run the risk of a concussion at the very least.

2) to make sure you have documentation of the injury.

Yup, shop elsewhere, lady. Walmark Sucks.