A jury ruled Thursday that a Lehigh Acres Dollar General owes a Lee County man more than $350,000 after he sustained permanent injuries when he slipped and fell in the store in 2014.
The jury found that the store was negligent in causing Lindsey Fredrick, 59, to fall and awarded him $351,434, according to a Morgan & Morgan news release.
On Dec. 24, 2014, Fredrick was shopping at Dollar General, 701 Gretchen Avenue South, when he slipped and fell on laundry detergent. He required knee replacement surgery and extensive therapy.
Fredrick, who was a City of Fort Myers Parks Department supervisor of landscape and tree trimming, also claimed lost wages and he did not return to work after surgery, according to court documents.
Fredrick was offered $100,000 for his injury before they went to trial, the news release said.
Dollar General denied Fredrick’s claim and denied liability for his injury arguing that the injury was a result of a pre-existing condition.
The jury found the store was 95% at fault, the release states.
“It is clear that the jury found that Mr. Fredrick’s injuries were wholly preventable had only Dollar General adequately maintained the safety of its store floors,” said Fredrick’s attorneys Derrick Isaac and Jason Gelinas in the release.