Home Depot Los Angeles Slip-and-Fall Verdict: $6.63M

Case Background

The case of Henrietta Castrellon v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. began with an accident at a Los Angeles Home Depot store. Castrellon, a lawful customer, claimed she suffered severe injuries because of unsafe conditions in the store. On August 12, 2020, she filed her complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

Castrellon alleged that the company failed to keep its property in a reasonably safe condition for shoppers. She stated that she encountered a hazardous situation while walking inside the store, which caused her to fall and sustain injuries. According to her complaint, Home Depot either knew about the unsafe condition or should have known through proper inspection yet took no steps to fix it or to warn her.

Her suit set the stage for a Courtroom battle about whether one of the nation’s largest retailers had met its duty of care to customers or whether its practices fell short.

Cause

Castrellon’s complaint rested on a theory of negligence through premises liability. She argued that Home Depot breached its duty to maintain safe aisles, floors, and customer walkways. Because of this breach, she was injured while inside the store.

Her lawyers stressed that she was not doing anything unusual at the time she was simply walking through the store as any paying customer would. The accident, they said, was the direct result of the company’s failure to act responsibly.

Injury

The fall lef