Jury awards $1.17 million after woman was injured in Phenix City Piggly Wiggly
The jury made their decision in the lawsuit Wednesday. The lawsuit was filed against J.T.M. Corporation, owner and/or operator of Piggly Wiggly Store #425, which is located at 1130 Highway 280 bypass in Phenix City.
An initial complaint filed on Battle's behalf by Walker Garrett, who is a Columbus councilor and an attorney for Morgan & Morgan, alleges Battle was in the checkout line of the Piggly Wiggly on March 3, 2018, when the store manager confronted someone attempting to rob the store.
The lawsuit alleged the person attempting the robbery grabbed Battle and threw her to the ground. The lawsuit says Battle, who was alive at the time the suit was filed but has since died, suffered 'severe injuries.' She was permanently harmed and suffered 'mental anguish' due to the incident.
'While we did not claim that her death was related, Ms. Battle's health was in much better shape before the incident and she suffered from a steady decline in health following the incident,' Garrett said in a statement. 'She was 85 at the time of the incident, and passed away 4 years later in 2022.'
The store did not have private security or hired police officers attending to security at the store on March 3, 2018, the lawsuit says. The complaint alleges this robbery wasn't the first time a robbery or attempted crime had occurred at the store.
The complaint says the defendants 'knew, or had reason to know, of a probability of conduct by a third person that would endanger Muriel Battle and other patrons.'
'We're pleased the jury saw how this injury severely diminished the quality of our client's life in her final years and recognized the defendant's role in causing her injuries,' said Morgan & Morgan attorney Erby Fischer in a statement.
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