PetSmart Settlement: Take a Cue from Barbie and Pick up Poo

March 1st, 2011. By AbiK

This latest settlement—the PetSmart dog poop slip and fall settlement—reminds me of a post we did a while ago where we mentioned the PooTrap. Kind of a ridiculous looking contraption, but if whatever dog it was who pooped on the PetSmart floor had been wearing one of these, well, who knows…

See, back in January, 2009, a patron at PetSmart in Newport News, VA—a Robbert Holloway—apparently took a spill while in the store. A pretty bad spill from the sounds of it—he claimed he injured his back badly, hit his head and knocked out four teeth when he went crashing to the floor after slipping on dog poop.

So, he sued.

His lawsuit against PetSmart—a slip and fall premises liability lawsuit that claimed negligence on the part of PetSmart, sought $1 million in damages. The negligence allegation being due to his charge that the store manager should have protected him from the hazardous condition that allowing pets to poop on the floor creates.

Now, aside from the fact that yes, PetSmart and most other larger pet-centric retail establishments do have pets afoot in store aisles en route to a hair trim, nail clipping or other service—and yes, they pretty much “go” when and where the urge arises—this lawsuit begs the question of not only PetSmart employee roles and responsibilities, but also those of the pet owners who bring in their pooches and parakeets.

Seems to me that while PetSmart sales employees should have a sense of urgency regarding poop and pee pickups in their store aisles, customers-cum-pets also have a responsibility to clean up after their canine and feline charges. How is it that there are pooper scooper laws for sidewalks—as in OUTdoors ‘aisles’—and not the same or greater level of poop removal oversight for a linoleum floor indoors? Why, even Barbie had the sense to have a pooper scooper on hand for walks with Tanner (see video).

While I feel quite badly for Mr. Holloway—let’s face it, the combination of being physically hurt along with non-diminishing aroma of dog poop on your clothes would cause even the most apathetic of individuals to wince a bit—I think it’s time to not only hold PetSmart accountable where they ought to be, but it’s also time for pet owners to pick up after themselves—er, their pets.

Tags: PetSmart, Premises Liability, Robert Holloway, Slip and Fall

This was posted on Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 3:43 pm and is filed under Emerging Issues, Personal Injury, Settlement . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.