from http://www.tampabaylive.c...ator.shtml


ST. PETERSBURG - Opening statements began Tuesday in the civil trial involving a young girl who lost three fingers in a Dillard's escalator back in 2002.

The accident happened at Tyrone Square Mall on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Now, Kerriana Johnson's mother is suing the store for negligence.

Both sides made their opening statements Tuesday, with attorneys for the victim's family painting a picture for the jury of a very dangerous machine that was an accident waiting to happen.

They wasted no time playing to the jury's sympathies, showing first pictures of Kerriana before the accident, then photos of the 5-year-old's mangled -- with the three middle fingers shorn off -- and her ripped-up shoe, both of which were crushed in the escalator.

In their opening statements, attorneys for Dillard's called the accident tragic, but insisted that any fault in this case lies not with the store, but with the young victim's mother

"The evidence in this case is going to show that this accident does not happen if Kerriana Johnson is being properly supervised," attorney Bob Stoller stated.

As testimony began, witnesses recalled the moment that the girl became trapped.



Attorneys for Kerriana's mother showed this photo of what the girl's hand looks like now.
"The scene was chaotic. The main concern at first was the safety of the small child and making sure that she got the proper medical attention, which she was obviously in need of," Ofc. Allan McTavish testified.

The plaintiffs used the testimony of another mother to tell the jury about an outdated escalator that store employees nicknamed 'The Crusher.' Darlene Kelly said her young son's shoe was also caught by the same escalator three months before.

"I was frustrated that I couldn't get it to stop, couldn't get it out, couldn't make him feel more secure, and she said, 'Oh, that happens all the time,' " Kelly testified.

Kerriana's mother is suing both Dillard's and two store employees who were involved in the maintenance and operations of the escalator at the time. The suit is for liability and damages for what is a so-far unspecified amount of money.

Kerriana, meanwhile, is said to be well adjusted for what she went through, and she is successfully learning to do normal things, such as tie her shoes, with her disfigured hand.

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I just watched this story on my local news and they interviewed a woman who had her shoe sucked in by the escalator (could have lost her foot if she hadn't managed to get free of her shoe) and Dillard's employee's didn't take her seriously or investigate at all. They thought she just wanted free replacement shoes even though she wouldn't accept any.


Why don't people value safety??

Because it costs money to replace or fix it and corporations dont care, they only worry about the almighty dollar.

Hopefully a nice big jury award will cost their insurers plenty and result in a massive hike in the defendant's premiums. It's too late for the little girl now though. All the money she may get wont give her back her hand.

bkw said:

How much do you think she could get?

althom said:

In Australia she could get around $500,000 -- $1,000,000 at a guess. She will get alot of sympathy though so the sky could be the limit. Who knows what that girl could have done with two good hands? I figure that the jury will punnish the store.

bkw said:

So the should! I hope the poor sweet thing gets the money.

althom said:

I hope that they will get at least as much as it would have cost to replace the escalator, so that the company and hopefully other companies will remember that not only is it immoral to put money over safety, it can also be more expensive ultimately.