A Florida boy caused his own injuries and his subsequent death by banging into a metal stock cart at Walmart, lawyers for the retail company recently claimed in court.
The incident occurred at a Fort Lauderdale Walmart on November 25, 2020, when Saiy'yah Allen-Bey, who was 7 years old at the time, walked into a metal stock cart and hit his head in a walkway. The child, unfortunately, died on May 7, 2023, after suffering seizures as a result of the accident, his family has claimed in its lawsuit.
Allen-Bey's mother, Tamika Springer, is suing Walmart in federal circuit court for allegedly creating dangerous and unsafe conditions that led to her son's death, seeking damages beyond $30,000—the amount needed to file the case in federal court.
However, Walmart's motion for summary judgement claims that Allen-Bey, who is identified in court papers as S.A., was "inattentive" when he banged his head on the stock cart.
A stock cart is a large trolley, typically with multiple shelves, used by supermarket staff to restock shelves.
"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.
A motion for summary judgement is filed by defendants before full evidence can be heard. They are rarely granted, as a judge would have to be satisfied that the defendant, in this case Walmart, has no case to answer.
Newsweek has contacted Walmart and the attorney representing Springer for comment via email on Friday.
"Walmart is not liable for the incident as the stock cart was so open and obvious that S.A. should have been reasonably expected to discover it and protect himself (by simply walking around it), and a stock cart is so obvious and not inherently dangerous that it can be said, as a matter of law, not to constitute a dangerous condition that will not give rise to liability due to the failure to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition," Walmart's motion for summary judgment states.
Walmart's attorney asked the court to consider the summary judgement granted in the 2008 case of Arnoul v. Busch Entm't, in which a judge noted: "There is no premises safe enough to entirely foreclose the risk that a guest might injure himself during an inattentive moment."
The company's summary judgement request was rejected by the court and the judge is allowing evidence to be heard. Walmart is continuing to dispute responsibility and will also dispute the plaintiff's claim that Allen-Bey's injury led to his death.
Giving evidence in the case on Tuesday, Allen-Bey's sister spoke about his seizures in the years after the accident, the legal website, Law & Crime reported on Thursday.
"He would shake a lot and he would look in a different direction, and then he would shake and make noise, too," Miharah Allen said. "Every time he ate, he would throw up, he would throw the food up or use the bathroom on himself."
Allen-Bey's obituary on the website of the Royal Funeral Service states:
"Saiy'yah! When you say his name you must put the royal respect on it! He is the King that the world deserved but wasn't ready for. His energy filled every room he walked into, and his presence impacted everyone who came in contact with him."
It continued: "Our 3rd child together. He was our first water birth baby born at Miami Maternity Center Saturday, July 13, 2013. Saiy'yah's talents were extraordinary. His drawings, paintings, origami and popsicle sculptures were amazing to everyone that was fortunate to see them or receive a gift from him."
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