Man dies of emotional distress after being forced to clean Walgreens bathroom, widow says

[jnelsoninjax]

ORLANDO, Fla. - The widow of a 69-year-old man has sued an Orlando Walgreens store, accusing them of holding her husband captive until he cleaned and mopped the store’s bathroom.

Maria Elizarraras claims that the humiliation of the experience caused emotional distress so severe that it killed her husband, Fernando Elizarraras.

The lawsuit was originally filed in state court but was moved to federal court Monday, according to court documents.

According to the suit, Fernando Elizarraras went to the Walgreens on Landstar Boulevard, where he had been a long-term customer, on Oct. 15, 2012.

After using the bathroom at the store, store employees stopped Fernando as he tried to leave and physically escorted him back to the bathroom, the lawsuit alleges.

The employees insisted the 69-year-old man clean the facility because, “You left a mess, (expletive) all over the bathroom,” the suit says.

For 20 minutes, Fernando was threatened and forced to clean and mop the bathroom before he was allowed to leave the store, his wife claims in the suit.

The incident caused Fernando to be “humiliated, disgraced and injured in his feelings, emotionally and mentally,” the lawsuit says.

The emotional distress caused by the situation was so severe that it “resulted in the death of Fernando,” the suit says.

“In all my years in the court system, this is new to me, never seen it,” said WFTV legal analyst Belvin Perry.

Perry said the claim for false imprisonment is a compelling one, but proving it led to the man’s death, which the lawsuit alleges, could be a stretch.

Those claims could be thrown out before trial.

“We need to know how cleaning a bathroom led to a death,” Perry said. “It’s just an allegation with no specificity.”

The claims may be thrown out before trial.

The lawsuit does not say how much time passed between the incident and Fernando’s death.

“The longer the gap between the incident and the death, the more difficult it is to connect the two,” said Perry.

On behalf of her husband’s estate, Maria Elizarraras was suing the company for an undetermined amount, but according to court documents has a standing offer to settle for $500,000.

The attorney representing the man’s family would not comment and would not say how the man died or how.

Walgreens would not provide its policy on the public’s use of store restrooms and would not say if there is a police because of ongoing litigation.

Source

[jnelsoninjax]

9 minutes ago, adrynalyne said:

How about let the full story come out before casting judgment?

Exactly, from the article

 

19 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

The lawsuit does not say how much time passed between the incident and Fernando’s death.

“The longer the gap between the incident and the death, the more difficult it is to connect the two,” said Perry.

The incident (bathroom cleaning) could and probably is unrelated to his death and the poor widow is looking for a payday. But I could be completely wrong also (would not be the first time, ask my wife!)

[Pishaw]

52 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

On behalf of her husband’s estate, Maria Elizarraras was suing the company for an undetermined amount, but according to court documents has a standing offer to settle for $500,000.

Standing offer to settle? Like eBay? I didn't know civil term was like that.

[jnelsoninjax]

Just now, Pishaw said:

Standing offer to settle? Like eBay? I didn't know civil term was like that.

I think that the company offers a settlement to keep it from going to the courts, 500k must be the insurance limit that Walgreen's has for litigation stuff.

[Skiver Veteran]

Thread Cleaned

[restroom]

Way to many unknowns to be able to pass a productive comment on this. If the guy had a known condition that caused his death BECAUSE of the stress the employees put on him, then the store has an element of guilt, but not complete. If they made him use cleaning products that he was allergic to and that caused the death, then they are totally responsible, but, if he walked away and 1 year later died, then I cant really see how they could be responsible. I mean if he dies from anxious stress bought on by the event, then by all means that sad, but the store couldn't be blamed directly.

 

Until more details generally are released on the time and cause of death and the exact events that took place in the store and their part in his death, there is not much anyone can say.

[xendrome]

6 hours ago, Skiver said:

Thread Cleaned

Much like the restroom

[Skiver Veteran]

Just now, xendrome said:

Much like the restroom

 

Too soon?

[FloatingFatMan]

I suffered deep emotional distress from reading about this poor mans fate and actually died, twice! I demand fifty bazillion quatloos in compensation! And a diet coke!

 

[TAZMINATOR]

1 minute ago, xendrome said:

Much like the restroom

And he missed the spot.

 

[pointing where he missed it]

 

 

[Nick H. Supervisor]

13 hours ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Those claims could be thrown out before trial.

“We need to know how cleaning a bathroom led to a death,” Perry said. “It’s just an allegation with no specificity.”

The claims may be thrown out before trial.

 

13 hours ago, jnelsoninjax said:

The attorney representing the man’s family would not comment and would not say how the man died or how.

Who reviewed this article before it was published?!

 

And what did this man do to that bathroom? Although with that said, I have seen the state of our bathrooms near the conference rooms, and some people just... 

[oldtimefighter]

Quote

The lawsuit does not say how much time passed between the incident and Fernando’s death.

 

That is a very key piece of information... Actually, there is not a enough information to pass any type of judgement on the legitimacy of this lawsuit. This of course doesn't seem to be stopping the typical mocking comments one sees on any post about a lawsuit (because we know none of them are legitimate).

 

I really want to know if criminal charges were ever brought up on the employees who made the man clean the bathroom.

Edited December 8, 2016 by oldtimefighter

[restroom]

18 hours ago, xendrome said:

Much like the restroom

Doh! I get it now! Baboom tish!

18 hours ago, FloatingFatMan said:

I suffered deep emotional distress from reading about this poor mans fate and actually died, twice! I demand fifty bazillion quatloos in compensation! And a diet coke!

 

You had to take it just that bit too far! Had you asked for a Pepsi, it would have been fine!

[Hum]

Bullfeathers.  Anything for money. 

[KingCracker]

If he did leave a mess, its still the employee's responsibility to clean it up. If he made a huge mess you might make a case for vandalism and then call the cops. How ever its still the employee's responsibility to clean the mess up either by doing it themselves or having a private company come in and clean the mess up if it was that big of a deal. 

[T3X4S]

Florida...nuff said.

[restroom]

19 hours ago, KingCracker said:

If he did leave a mess, its still the employee's responsibility to clean it up. If he made a huge mess you might make a case for vandalism and then call the cops. How ever its still the employee's responsibility to clean the mess up either by doing it themselves or having a private company come in and clean the mess up if it was that big of a deal. 

Even then, unless they watched him doing it, how do they know that HE made the mess? Could have been the person before him!

[cork1958]

On 12/9/2016 at 6:13 AM, Hum said:

Bullfeathers.  Anything for money. 

 

On 12/9/2016 at 6:13 AM, Hum said:

Bullfeathers.  Anything for money. 

Ok, I'll go along with politely quoting you, although I'd rather say something else!

[Tomo]

Surely there would be a post mortem to determine actual cause of death? It seems the widow is just looking for someone to blame and possibly a payout.