"Display Case Collapse Causes Brain Injury...193 Billion Won Lawsuit Filed Against Costco by US Woman"

Suffers Serious Injuries as Liquor Display Falls
US Woman Claims "Costco Responsible for Poor Management"
Seeks 6.8 Billion Won Each for Physical and Emotional Distress, Totaling 19.3 Billion Won

A woman who was injured when a display case collapsed at a Costco store in the United States has filed a lawsuit seeking nearly 20 billion won in damages.

A woman injured at a Costco store in the United States has filed a lawsuit against Costco seeking damages worth hundreds of millions of won. Costco Instagram

According to USA Today on June 10 (local time), Sadie Novotny, a resident of Santa Rosa, California, filed a lawsuit against Costco seeking $14.11 million (approximately 19.28 billion won) in damages, claiming that she was injured in April because Costco failed to properly manage its store merchandise.

According to the complaint, Novotny alleges that on March 22, while shopping at a Costco store in Santa Rosa, a heavy liquor display case suddenly toppled over and fell on her, causing her to suffer serious injuries including a head injury and traumatic brain injury. She stated that although she tried to push away the falling display, she still experienced pain in her right shoulder, arm, hand, fingers, and lower back as a result of the impact.

In addition to general negligence, she also filed claims for premises liability and products liability. According to the legal information website Justia, in personal injury lawsuits involving premises liability, the owner of the property where the accident occurred can be held responsible for the damages. Products liability, on the other hand, pertains to damages caused by defective products.

In the complaint, Novotny argued that Costco failed to properly operate the store and manage its merchandise, and also failed to adequately train, manage, and supervise its employees. She further claimed that the problematic display case was placed in a "dangerous or unstable position" because it was set on a thin and worn wooden pallet.

In this lawsuit, Novotny is seeking a total of $14.11 million in damages. The breakdown of the damages is as follows: $5 million (approximately 6.836 billion won) for emotional distress, $5 million for pain, suffering, and inconvenience, $2 million (approximately 2.736 billion won) for future medical expenses, $2 million for future loss of earnings, $50,000 (approximately 68.4 million won) for medical expenses incurred to date, $50,000 for loss of earnings to date, and $10,000 (approximately 13.68 million won) for loss of household services.