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Lowes Has Destroyed My Life
Injury To My Body - Complaint
Review by tmartin419 on 2012-12-08
Rating: 
ST. MARY'S, GEORGIA -- It is impossible to put into words how angry and helpless I feel towards the Lowes company. I am speaking of the huge hardware chain, the company that sponsors Jimmy Johnson in Nascar, that Lowes.
Last year my wife and I, were shopping in our local Lowes store, in St. Mary's Georgia. We were walking down an aisle and my foot was caught up in some plastic wrap that was left behind when the pallet was removed. The plastic wrap was sticking out into the aisle and was weighed down by a bag of fertilizer. After the fact it looked as though an employee had taken the last bag of fertilizer off of the pallet, leaving it in the aisle on top of the entire piece of plastic wrap that had originally been wrapped around the whole pallet of fertilizer. The plastic wrap was bunched up under the fertilizer but plenty was sticking out from under it.
My foot had gotten caught in it, and stopped very abruptly, I was pushing a basket and fell so fast that I did not have time to soften the fall with my hands. I fell directly on my tailbone, lower back. The pain I experienced was extreme, I could not move, it was a scary experience, I felt pain throughout my entire lower half of my body. At least 10 Lowes employees gathered around me, trying to make me comfortable as I lay on my side. My wife sat by me holding my hand in shock. An ambulance came and put me on a gurney and wheeled me out to the ambulance. It was the most painful ride of my life, they belted me down on my back, gave me an I. V. and a shot for the pain, it did not help at all. the E. M.T. put a mask on my face and told me to breath in as hard as I could and whatever I was breathing in would help with pain, it did not, but it did make me drowsy. They drove me to a hospital 45 miles away. We arrived at the hospital where the doctors took a quick look at me and sent me for x-rays, after giving me some pain medication. It felt like forever, they took every x-ray known to mankind, it was horrific, I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy.
After the hospital stuff, I was referred to Brunswick Brain and Spine Clinic. I went through numerous spinal injections to try and relieve the pain I was feeling. I had numerous mri's and other tests, this went on for months. I was being medicated with morphine, klonipin, oxycotton, suboxone, and multiple other drugs. I am unable to bath myself, or anything else that require's a back and legs. Finally, the neurologist suggested that I get a surgically implanted Spinal Stimulator to get relief of my pain. We set the date and it was done. A Spinal stimulator is a lead wire that is attached to your spine, about 3/4's of the way up your spine, it is attached with hardware that can never be removed. The wire then comes down your spine, ofcourse under your skin, it is connected to the stimulator and battery, that is implanted in your flesh, a lot of cutting of skin is involved with this operation not to mention the risk of being paralyzed. I now have a controller that I can control the the power output of the stimulator. The stimulator is suppose to block pain signals from the brain. Today I go to a pain management doctor every month, to be monitored, I am still on morphine and other powerful drugs to help with pain. And will have extreme pain for the rest of my life, there is not anything left worth trying for pain relief. I have a wife and 3 children, my wife had a stroke 18 years ago and cannot move her right side of her body. Lucky family are, nt we.
I don't sleep, I cannot drive, I cannot, nor ever will I be able to get an erection again, I could go on forever, you get the picture. I am on Social Security Disability, I receive $1200 a month, I am 5% of the man I was before Lowes.
I did get a lawyer to get what I could out of Lowes, what is your life worth?
My lawyer called me today, 12-7-2012, Lowes offered me $15,000..........
That don't even cover half my bills, I guess I will have to sue them.
In my opinion Lowes is a pathetic company, unwilling or unable to care about their customers, On my mothers grave, I swear Lowes will feel my pain. All I want is to provide for my family, we will lose our house, we have lost our vehicle, if it were not for my family I would be gone from this Hell. All I ask is for your prayers that Lowes stands up and does the humane thing, and compensate me for their mistake that ruined my families world.
If anyone knows of an organization that could help me, make Lowes, compensate me for all they have taken from me please contact me.
Thank You,
Mike
Last year my wife and I, were shopping in our local Lowes store, in St. Mary's Georgia. We were walking down an aisle and my foot was caught up in some plastic wrap that was left behind when the pallet was removed. The plastic wrap was sticking out into the aisle and was weighed down by a bag of fertilizer. After the fact it looked as though an employee had taken the last bag of fertilizer off of the pallet, leaving it in the aisle on top of the entire piece of plastic wrap that had originally been wrapped around the whole pallet of fertilizer. The plastic wrap was bunched up under the fertilizer but plenty was sticking out from under it.
My foot had gotten caught in it, and stopped very abruptly, I was pushing a basket and fell so fast that I did not have time to soften the fall with my hands. I fell directly on my tailbone, lower back. The pain I experienced was extreme, I could not move, it was a scary experience, I felt pain throughout my entire lower half of my body. At least 10 Lowes employees gathered around me, trying to make me comfortable as I lay on my side. My wife sat by me holding my hand in shock. An ambulance came and put me on a gurney and wheeled me out to the ambulance. It was the most painful ride of my life, they belted me down on my back, gave me an I. V. and a shot for the pain, it did not help at all. the E. M.T. put a mask on my face and told me to breath in as hard as I could and whatever I was breathing in would help with pain, it did not, but it did make me drowsy. They drove me to a hospital 45 miles away. We arrived at the hospital where the doctors took a quick look at me and sent me for x-rays, after giving me some pain medication. It felt like forever, they took every x-ray known to mankind, it was horrific, I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy.
After the hospital stuff, I was referred to Brunswick Brain and Spine Clinic. I went through numerous spinal injections to try and relieve the pain I was feeling. I had numerous mri's and other tests, this went on for months. I was being medicated with morphine, klonipin, oxycotton, suboxone, and multiple other drugs. I am unable to bath myself, or anything else that require's a back and legs. Finally, the neurologist suggested that I get a surgically implanted Spinal Stimulator to get relief of my pain. We set the date and it was done. A Spinal stimulator is a lead wire that is attached to your spine, about 3/4's of the way up your spine, it is attached with hardware that can never be removed. The wire then comes down your spine, ofcourse under your skin, it is connected to the stimulator and battery, that is implanted in your flesh, a lot of cutting of skin is involved with this operation not to mention the risk of being paralyzed. I now have a controller that I can control the the power output of the stimulator. The stimulator is suppose to block pain signals from the brain. Today I go to a pain management doctor every month, to be monitored, I am still on morphine and other powerful drugs to help with pain. And will have extreme pain for the rest of my life, there is not anything left worth trying for pain relief. I have a wife and 3 children, my wife had a stroke 18 years ago and cannot move her right side of her body. Lucky family are, nt we.
I don't sleep, I cannot drive, I cannot, nor ever will I be able to get an erection again, I could go on forever, you get the picture. I am on Social Security Disability, I receive $1200 a month, I am 5% of the man I was before Lowes.
I did get a lawyer to get what I could out of Lowes, what is your life worth?
My lawyer called me today, 12-7-2012, Lowes offered me $15,000..........
That don't even cover half my bills, I guess I will have to sue them.
In my opinion Lowes is a pathetic company, unwilling or unable to care about their customers, On my mothers grave, I swear Lowes will feel my pain. All I want is to provide for my family, we will lose our house, we have lost our vehicle, if it were not for my family I would be gone from this Hell. All I ask is for your prayers that Lowes stands up and does the humane thing, and compensate me for their mistake that ruined my families world.
If anyone knows of an organization that could help me, make Lowes, compensate me for all they have taken from me please contact me.
Thank You,
Mike
Comments:
Posted by trmn8r on 2012-12-08:
This is a textbook injury case, and I'm sure you will need a lawyer to get anything other than a token from Lowes. They aren't going to stand up and pay all your bills or try to make up for pain or suffering - companies just don't do that.
Frankly, home centers are dangerous places in general. I've spent a lot of time in them, and have come across hazards similar to this. Good luck.
Frankly, home centers are dangerous places in general. I've spent a lot of time in them, and have come across hazards similar to this. Good luck.
Posted by At Your Service on 2012-12-08:
I really am sorry for your pain Mike. I would hope the very best for you. The truth is that sometimes life deals us the very worst blows and the best thing to do is concentrate on the positive and what you have control over, not the negative.
I don't know how one would come up with a 'fair' amount. That is, I suppose, what the legal system works out. The unfortunate truth is that it could just as easily bankrupt you by paying for attorneys to represent your interest. The choice of a good attorney's office is important. Make sure you do your research and retain one you trust. It sounds like you've done just that. Ultimately, if you trust him/her, trust his/her recommendations.
Best of luck and please keep us informed.
I don't know how one would come up with a 'fair' amount. That is, I suppose, what the legal system works out. The unfortunate truth is that it could just as easily bankrupt you by paying for attorneys to represent your interest. The choice of a good attorney's office is important. Make sure you do your research and retain one you trust. It sounds like you've done just that. Ultimately, if you trust him/her, trust his/her recommendations.
Best of luck and please keep us informed.
Posted by ok4now on 2012-12-08:
OMG that's quite a story Mike. I can't even begin to imagine the pain and suffering you have to endure. Never would I imagine that a trip to Lowe's would be so life changing. You have now entered a legal battle with this multimillion dollar company that could take years to settle. Their offer of $15K is chump change, don't take it, they're trying to get off cheap.
In this situation you really need a good aggressive lawyer with a proven track record. This case is worth some serious money. Be prepared for a long drawn out fight. I wish you the best.
In this situation you really need a good aggressive lawyer with a proven track record. This case is worth some serious money. Be prepared for a long drawn out fight. I wish you the best.
Posted by madconsumer on 2012-12-08:
i would like to see the incident report lowes made. from a safety point of view, "eyes on path/walking working surface" would prevent being injured from someone else's poor habit.
if the poster is going to seek legal council, the council would perhaps prefer not to have this posted on the internet.
if the poster is going to seek legal council, the council would perhaps prefer not to have this posted on the internet.
Posted by axehandlebill on 2013-01-07:
Mike, get a big law firm not just a lawyer, I had the almost same problem, maybe worse? I finally got 2 million, and I was in a wheel chair but now can walk but not very good. Good luck..
Posted by 1gary on 2013-01-08:
I read your account rather quickly. By what method did you leave the store? If you walked out on your own power, you probably don't have much of a chance with a law suit. If you were taken out of the store by medics, i.e., a 911 call then Lowes has got a big problem. I any case, were I you, I would sit down and talk with a personal injury lawyer. Best wishes and good luck.
Posted by Sassy2 on 2013-01-10:
Lowes will drag this out for as long as possible trying to wear you down and you finally settle for a much lesser amount than you want and a lot of times your attorney will settle for you for what they think is a "good" settlement.I went through this with an auto accident,I wound up almost losing my house and everything I owned and then my attorney sold me out.hope this does not happen to you..Hang in there
Posted by Trrypj1 on 2013-03-04:
Last week my husband that is 71 years old and we both still work, was exiting a Lowe's store in northern Georgia with our son and a empty pallet with plastic still on it was left where people load and unload at that exit and he fell and hurt his back/spine badly. Now he may lose his current job, etc. due to this happening. He is seeing a spine doctor next week, where the emergency room had told him to go there. Pain is there and he has a fractured vertebrae and a compound problem etc. they did xray and a cat scan and next will be a MRI hopefully. He also cannot sleep and is hard to walk, even though they put a back brace on him, his life is probably ruined and more than likely he will lose his job. Seems strange after what happen to you about three months ago they would have made sure employees did not leave pallets laying around both inside and outside where customers are. Sorry for your hurt but they should have not let their employees be negligent again. I agree what they offered to give you is ridiculous when you truly were hurt.
Posted by Robert on 2013-03-18:
Lowes has a habit of hiring, but not properly training their personnel. My experience with them is not as catastrophic as trrypj1, but they made my purchase there a nightmare. I bought a on-sale clothes washer there. I charged it to my credit card, and when I received the bill, there was a $1,000.00 over charge! This problem could not be solved thru the phone, so I had to return to the store and spend two and one half hours with a customer service rep. that couldn't operate a calculator. FINALLY,they did getit strait, (It took four days total,DUH!)
Posted by wayne on 2013-05-15:
i was also injured seriously as an employee walking up to assist a customer when three sliding glass doors 200 lb apiece domino style were thrusted into his that he had already had pulled and then into my head and face breaking my nose almost took off my left nostrile pinning me to the opposite side of the isle leaving me with soft tissue dammage and a neck thats gonna need surgery to ease my pain my way of life has completely change good luck
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