Survivor of Virginia Walmart mass shooting files $50M suit

[1srelluc]

A Walmart employee who survived last week's mass shooting at a store in Virginia has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the company for allegedly continuing to employ the shooter a store supervisor "who had known propensities for violence, threats and strange behavior."

Prioleau's suit alleges that she has experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, including physical and emotional distress, from witnessing the rampage in the store's breakroom on Nov. 22.


Virginia Walmart mass shooting survivor files $50M lawsuit

Well that did not take long.....

The question is, did she or other employees report the behavior ahead of time?

 

[Esdraelon]

The question is, did she or other employees report the behavior ahead of time?

Good question. If any of them did and have any documentation or corroborating witnesses to prove the management simply ignored warning signs, Walmart is going to be on the hook. They'll likely settle to keep any precedent from being set concerning their liability.

 

[Death-Ninja]

Well, the Walton clan certainly can afford to pay out a few hundred million or so, so $50-million is probably a little low, I'd absolutely tee off on them. That family has destroyed middle American communities, by annihilating wonderful local stores and shops, I hate only one thing more than I do setting foot inside their evil stores, and that would be the fascist democrats/communist Chinese whose toes the Walton clan suck upon!

 

[Winston]

Good question. If any of them did and have any documentation or corroborating witnesses to prove the management simply ignored warning signs, Walmart is going to be on the hook. They'll likely settle to keep any precedent from being set concerning their liability.

From the article it appears there were clear warning signs that were ignored. From the linked article,

Bing was previously disciplined for bad behavior and harassing employees, but Walmart “kept employing him anyway,” the suit says.

All disciplinary actions are documented electronically and digitally stored. Harassment should have been a level red and a second level red should have resulted in immediate termination. That will probably be Walmart's out here. From the looks of things, store level management failed to abide by company policies. I understand going after the deep pockets, but success would be almost certain going after store management, starting with the store manager that probably knocks down a quarter of a million dollars a year. Again, from the linked article,

In September, Prioleau’s mother expressed concerns to a Walmart manager about her daughter’s safety “because it appeared their concerns were falling on deaf ears,” the lawsuit states.

The manager said “there was nothing that could be done about Mr. Bing because he was liked by management,” according to the suit.

And there we get to Walmart's biggest problem. Walmart stores are as cliquish as a junior high school. Typically 250 or more employees, most of them vastly underpaid, except for the store manager, coaches, and the ever present store lead. Two of my sons did a stint at Walmart, as well as a couple of my cousins. In every store there is a group of "pets", they get the best hours, most of the overtime, and are given higher paying jobs like the "team lead" that was the culprit here. He was probably knocking down $22 an hour, working four days a week, ten hour shifts, all overnight. Maybe more importantly, one or two nights a week he was probably carrying the keys and responsible for the entire store. Giving someone with his obvious problems that much responsibility is certainly an example of gross misconduct and negligence.

If Walmart has a prayer to escape this lawsuit unscathed they better have terminated the entire management staff, from store manager to every single coach, like yesterday. If I were the market manager, Walmart's term for District Manager, I would have made that happen the day after.

 

[1srelluc]

From the article it appears there were clear warning signs that were ignored. From the linked article,

Bing was previously disciplined for bad behavior and harassing employees, but Walmart “kept employing him anyway,” the suit says.

All disciplinary actions are documented electronically and digitally stored. Harassment should have been a level red and a second level red should have resulted in immediate termination. That will probably be Walmart's out here. From the looks of things, store level management failed to abide by company policies. I understand going after the deep pockets, but success would be almost certain going after store management, starting with the store manager that probably knocks down a quarter of a million dollars a year. Again, from the linked article,

In September, Prioleau’s mother expressed concerns to a Walmart manager about her daughter’s safety “because it appeared their concerns were falling on deaf ears,” the lawsuit states.

The manager said “there was nothing that could be done about Mr. Bing because he was liked by management,” according to the suit.

And there we get to Walmart's biggest problem. Walmart stores are as cliquish as a junior high school. Typically 250 or more employees, most of them vastly underpaid, except for the store manager, coaches, and the ever present store lead. Two of my sons did a stint at Walmart, as well as a couple of my cousins. In every store there is a group of "pets", they get the best hours, most of the overtime, and are given higher paying jobs like the "team lead" that was the culprit here. He was probably knocking down $22 an hour, working four days a week, ten hour shifts, all overnight. Maybe more importantly, one or two nights a week he was probably carrying the keys and responsible for the entire store. Giving someone with his obvious problems that much responsibility is certainly an example of gross misconduct and negligence.

If Walmart has a prayer to escape this lawsuit unscathed they better have terminated the entire management staff, from store manager to every single coach, like yesterday. If I were the market manager, Walmart's term for District Manager, I would have made that happen the day after.

It has protected class written all over it.

 

[the watcher]

A Walmart employee who survived last week's mass shooting at a store in Virginia has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the company for allegedly continuing to employ the shooter a store supervisor "who had known propensities for violence, threats and strange behavior."

Prioleau's suit alleges that she has experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, including physical and emotional distress, from witnessing the rampage in the store's breakroom on Nov. 22.


Virginia Walmart mass shooting survivor files $50M lawsuit

Well that did not take long.....

The question is, did she or other employees report the behavior ahead of time?

They would have been sued for double that if they had fired him for post stressing him as well as being racist. No winners for anyone except hush money for everyone.