On Tuesday, February 23rd, a jury awarded $32.4 million to the surviving family members of a woman who was killed after an SUV crashed into a Cumberland Farms convenience store in Massachusetts. In November of 2010, Kimmy Dubuque, 43, was entering a store in Chicopee, Massachusetts when an 81-year-old man driving an SUV suffered a stroke, losing control of his vehicle and crashing into Dubuque, pushing her through the wall of the convenience store.
Dubuque’s family sued Cumberland Farms because the chain failed to install safety devices known as bollards, or barrier posts, which may have prevented Dubuque’s death. According to the Dubuque’s lawyers, from 2000 to 2009, Cumberland Farms was involved in 485 incidents of vehicles jumping curbs, resulting in at least 13 injury claims and property damage over $1.5 million. At the time, Cumberland Farms had more than 500 stores.
See the full news article about the jury verdict here.
According to this ruling, retail stores do have a duty to protect their customers from preventable accidents, including protection from runaway vehicles. Cars and other vehicles crashing into storefronts is more common than most people think. We’ve reported on three separate incidents in Southern California alone over the past couple of years.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker today at (800) 333-0000 for a free legal consultation.
