Walmart Lawsuit: Family Of Dead Worker Files Wrongful Death Suit Over COVID-19

Walmart (WMT) is being sued by the family of one of its employees that died from the coronavirus. The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, claims the retail giant knew the man had symptoms and disregarded them.

The 51-year-old man died on March 25 and was a 15-year employee of a Walmart store in Evergreen Park, Illinois, where he worked as an overnight stock and maintenance employee, CNBC reported.

The lawsuit reportedly claims that the man told store managers that he was having symptoms but was ignored. On March 23, the man was sent home from work and was found dead in his home two days later, the news outlet said.

The suit contends that Walmart was negligent for the worker’s death because it did not adequately clean the store, enforce social distancing, notify employees about co-workers that had coronavirus symptoms, and provide protective gear, CNBC said.

Walmart has since increased its safety measures adding Plexiglass to checkout lanes and floor decals to promote social distancing. The company has also reduced its store hours and limited the number of customers allowed in its stores at any one time.

The family filing the lawsuit reportedly tried to contact store managers and Walmart corporate offices to cover burial expenses through the company’s emergency relief fund but did not receive an answer.

Another Walmart worker from the same Evergreen Park store reportedly died from the coronavirus on March 29.

Shares of Walmart stock were up 0.12% as of 12:10 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.