Personal Injury Law

Attacked by Swinging Doors

By mbrickley

On June 21, 2007 an elderly woman walked into a Target department store in Rosemont, Ill. ? completely unaware she was going to suffer brain injuries.

As Claire Putnam walked through the main entrance to the store, the automatic swinging door hit her - knocking her on the ground. When she fell, her head hit the ground ? hard.

While Putnam was still on the ground the door swung back and struck her with another blow to her head.

NBC Chicago aired the video from Target surveillance cameras on the news. It showed Putnam?s attempt to walk through the doors and she just about made it through when the doors hit her.

She then fell to the ground, hitting her head. Before she could get up again, the doors closed on her hitting her head a second time.

She was hospitalized after the incident occurred and according to her attorney, Phillip Harnett Corboy Jr., Putnam suffered from brain injuries called ?diffuse brain injuries,? which occur over a wide area of the brain. She can still speak but has trouble processing her words and thoughts.

Before the incident she cared for her adult daughter with special needs. Her attorney stated, ?As a result of what happened two years ago, Claire has been robbed of that ability to take care of her eldest daughter as well as enjoying the remaining years of her life as she planned.?

He argued in the injury lawsuit filed against Target that the department store failed to follow the safety guidelines provided by the door manufacturer ? Besam USA ? and due to their lack of safety, the incident caused personal injury to his client.

Besam USA was also a defendant in the lawsuit, as the doors allegedly did not provide a way to turn off automatic functions in case of emergency. They claim the doors were poorly designed because they do not have any built in mechanisms to alert employees of the door malfunctioning.

Putnam was awarded $7 million in the lawsuit, and will use the money to help take care of her daughter. She will also use the compensation she received to move out of the nursing home and move back with her family.

Target at this point has not released any statements about the case, NBC Chicago reported.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on October 28, 2009 (boomark / email).