Holden v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Holden v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
259 Neb. 78, 608 N.W.2d 187 (2000).

Facts: Holden, a lady with bad knees, stepped out of her vehicle in a handicap parking space of the Wal-Mart parking lot and tripped on a hole in that parking lot. She had to get knee surgery (which otherwise could have waited between 5-10 years). The cost of things related to the surgery was about $25k, and a second knee surgery that would be required later on would probably cost between $40k and $50k.

Procedure: Trial jury found 40 percent negligence on Holden's part and 60 percent on Wal-Mart's part. The jury found the total damages to be $6k, so Holden recovered $3,600. Holden appealed basically on the grounds that the number was outrageously low.

Issues: Was the reward amount the result of a mistake?

Holding: No.

Reasoning: She had a pre-existing condition that gave the jury a reasonable amount of room to decide how much of the costs were due to the incident and how many would have existed anyway. See the bit about her probably needing knee surgery in the next decade anyway.