Broward jury finds Walmart negligent in child's death, awards Miami Gardens family $2.7 million
FORT LAUDERDALE – A Broward County jury awarded a Miami Gardens family $2.7 million after finding Walmart partially negligent in the death of their 9-year-old boy at a store in Fort Lauderdale in November 2020.
On May 77, 2023, Saiy-Yah Allen died after suffering traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic seizures sustained at the local Walmart store on Nov. 25, 2020,
The six-member Broward County jury on Friday awarded $9 million but found Walmart 30% responsible and the family 70% with the family not having to pay the defendants, Thomas H. Leeder, the family's lead attorney, told CBS News Miami. The trial lasted nine days.
The lawsuit by the child's mother, Tamika Springer, alleged that Walmart was negligent in maintaining safe store conditions and breaking its own safety rules that directly led to the child's untimely death.
The incident was at the Walmart Supercenter at 2500 W. Broward Blvd., west of Interstate 95.
The child, 7 at the time, had walked into the handles of a stocking cart's metal handles that were protruding into an aisle from an end cap, causing him to fall and suffer two separate and significant blows to the head.
The cart, with multiple shelves, is used by stores to restock shelves.
The family's attorneys argued that Walmart failed to address a known hazard, resulting in the preventable tragedy.
"This verdict is a bittersweet victory," Leeder said in a statement. "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 affirms that his life had immeasurable value.
"Walmart's negligence stole a future filled with incredible promise of a young artist. We hope this verdict serves as a wake-up call to corporations everywhere: prioritize safety and following its own safety rules or face the consequences."
The Leeder Law firm is a Broward-based and statewide litigation practice.
Walmart disputed blame, writing in a motion summary:
"Here, unfortunately, S.A. was inattentive and failed to walk around a stock cart's handles that were observed by his sister, who was not walking with her head turned. S.A. failed to use his senses and was walking while looking backward, therefore he did not observe the open, obvious, and innocuous stock cart," the motion stated.
'S.A. failed to use his senses and was walking while looking backward, therefore he did not observe the open, obvious and innocuous stock cart."
According to Saiy-Yah's obituary with Royal Funeral Service, Inc., "His energy filled every room he walked into, and his presence impacted everyone who came in contact with him.
"He often made origami birds and drawings for our friends and even random people he came in contact with. His eyes and smile lit the entire universe! He did everything with the utmost pride and precision. We all told him how brilliant and genius he is and how his talents will only get greater."
