Supermarket Destroys Door Sensor Records After Serious Injury
A supermarket’s electronic door malfunctioned and closed on a patron entering the store causing serious injury. The supermarket replaced the malfunctioning electronics and sensors to fix the problem. Then, the supermarket destroyed all records related to the replacement of the electronics. Then, supermarket management testified that the electronics were never replaced. The supermarket claimed that the doors were in perfect operating order and management blamed the victim for “not paying attention.” After years of litigation, we were able to identify the maintenance contractor for the supermarket’s electronic doors. The maintenance contractor’s invoices proved that the supermarket not only lied about not replacing the door sensors, but that the supermarket reported the problem with the doors to the maintenance company a month before the injury. The maintenance company prepared a bid to replace all electronics for the doors and emailed supermarket management weekly for authorization to make the repairs. The supermarket waited until AFTER the patron was seriously injured to fix the doors.
Office Building Blames Victim, Destroys Plumbing Records
An office building had a leaking toilet that required repair. Management knew about the leaking toilet and called out a plumber to fix the leak. But, the office building left the bathroom open to the public knowing about the leak and failed to put up a wet floor sign. A guest walks into the bathroom and falls on the water causing serious back injury. The office building destroyed the plumbing records. Then, the building manager testified that although they have used the same plumbing company for over 20 years, they could not remember the name of the plumbing company or what phone number they called. Even worse, management testified that the reason the toilet was leaking was because the injured person clogged the toilet causing it to overflow. In litigation, the employee who first discovered the leak admitted that he was asked to lie about victim flooding the toilet. He admitted that reported the leak to management and told management that the leak required a plumber due to a piping issue at least 30 minutes before the victim fell. At trial, the corporation still blamed the victim for “not paying attention.”
Bar Destroys Surveillance Footage After Violent Attack
A bar had over 15 surveillance cameras. Inside the bar, a bartender purchased heroin from a drug dealer. The bartender then went to women’s restroom leaving the bar unattended for over 30 minutes. When a patron needed the bartender to collect winnings from a slot machine, the drug dealer became angry. Another guest went look for the bartender. The drug dealer viciously attacked the patron causing serious neck and back injuries. When police arrived, they found the bartender passed out on the bathroom floor. The next day, management destroyed the video from all 15 cameras. The bar also destroyed the incident report concerning their employee buying and taking drugs while on the job. The bar blamed the injured patron for starting the fight.
Gentleman’s Club Removes Hazard, Denies Responsibility
A gentleman’s club had a above ground walkway which was known to be dangerous. A patron fell from the walkway and landed on her head. Unconscious, She was taken to the emergency room by ambulance. Thereafter, club management had the walkway removed and did not take any photographs of the defect. The club then destroyed all blueprints related to the walkway. The club owner then lied about taking down the walkway and claimed that he had sold the club and the new owner destroyed the evidence. We were able to prove that the club owner never sold the club. He simply incorporated the club under a new name. The club owner blamed the patron for “not paying attention.”
Casino Destroys Security Footage of Brutal Holding Room Attack
A fight broke out on a casino floor. Security brought the people involved back to the holding area. Security handcuffed one of the individuals but not the other. In the holding area, hotel security left the guest without handcuffs unattended. This individual picked up an oxygen tank in the holding area, walked out of the room, and bashed the other individual on the head with the oxygen tank. Hotel security viewed video of the incident and saved the video on the dedicated hard drive. Thereafter, risk management destroyed the video claiming the video had become corrupted. The casino blamed injured patron for not being able to defend himself against the attack even though he was handcuffed at the time. For trial, the casino hired a security expert to defend their actions. The expert admitted that management had the video destroyed so the jury could never see what actually happened.
Casino Erases All History of Dangerous Floors
A casino had hundreds of slip and falls on its marble floors. The casino had been sued approximately three hundred times related to injuries from the falls. The casino had its floors tested many of times by safety professionals. Casino management had testified dozens of times regarding the floors. A former employee testified that casino employees complained about slippery floors and management was aware of the problem. A patron slipped on the dangerous floor, and in her fall, her head hit the corner of the marble pillar. The patron had a serious brain injury. The casino destroyed almost all evidence associated with this case including the results from floor testing from the safety professionals, the prior deposition testimony from casino management, the prior lawsuits, and the identities of prior slip and fall victims. The casino even refused to identify the names of its prior risk managers who were aware of the dangerous floors. The casino blamed the injured patron for “not paying attention” and being “intoxicated.” The hospital records from 45 minutes after the fall indicate that the patron had a BAC of .01.
Casino Deletes Most of Surveillance Video, Hides Key Moments
A casino modified video related to a slip and fall case. The video camera was fixed to the area where the injured patron fell. The casino “saved” two hours of video: one hour before the fall and one hour after the fall. Of the two hours of video that was saved, the casino erased nearly all video footage. Casino management told the director of security to delete all video before the fall and video of the patron receiving treatment and care after the fall. The only portion of the two hours that the casino saved was a brief clip while the patron was already laying on the floor after the fall. This video was only provided after a security expert inspected the surveillance room and found the there was a fixed video camera in the area of the fall. Prior to this, the casino repeatedly lied about video cameras in the area. The casino blames the injured patron for “not paying attention.”
Incident Report Modified Three Times to Blame Patron
A casino modified an incident report three times after a patron slipped and fractured her femur on a wet floor. The final version falsely claimed she was “highly intoxicated” and that the floor was dry. The patron stated she doesn’t drink alcohol, and paramedics confirmed the floor was wet. The original security officer had left the company before the edits were made but later testified that he was fired for refusing to lie in reports. He also revealed that casino staff were trained to always report injured guests as “intoxicated.” The court allowed discovery of prior reports, all of which similarly blamed patrons.
Warehouse Club Fakes Cleaning Logs After Slip-and-Fall
One of the nation’s largest wholesale warehouse clubs falsified employee “sweep sheets.” The warehouse added a “sweep” to show that the area where the injured patron fell was cleaned 20 minutes before the fall. However, the employee that was credited with doing the “sweep” 20 minutes before the fall, had already left for the day before the entry was made. He could not have done the sweep if he was not even in the warehouse. The employee confirmed that at the time of the sweep entry he was off work and he did not do the “sweep.” Management testified the sweep was done but there was simply a typo inserting the employee number. Subsequent emails, however, revealed what appeared to be gloating “Now, they will never know about our ‘wonderful employee’ who never did the sweep.” Management blamed the injured patron for “not paying attention.” The company settled the case after the Court ordered management to appear for an evidentiary hearing regarding the email where the club admitted the employee never did the sweep.
Pizza Chain Deletes GPS Evidence to Hide Fault in Crash
A fast-food pizza chain destroyed GPS data of its delivery driver who ran a stop sign and caused a car crash. The GPS data would have tracked the driver’s speed and location for every second of the delivery. The large pizza delivery chain blamed the other driver as being the at fault party.
Department Store Deletes Video, Blames Victim
A department store sent video surveillance coverage to its insurance company of a patrol falling on wet floor that had been mopped and there were no “Wet Floor” signs. The insurance company deleted the video. Thereafter, department store blamed the victim who fell for “not paying attention.”