A South Carolina woman shopping in a local Walmart stepped on a rusty nail and then lost a major part of her leg due to her injuries. She sued Walmart in 2017 after the 2015 incident, and in December 2021 a jury in Florence County, South Carolina, finally awarded $10 million in damages to her.

This multimillion-dollar award was the second large settlement in only a few weeks handed down against Walmart. Another $2.1million damages order was awarded in November to a Walmart customer who sued the retailer in 2016, after she was arrested and accused, falsely, of the theft of groceries. The jurors in that case, in Mobile, Alabama, also agreed Walmart was liable for damages due to the false arrest and false accusations.

The woman in this case, mother April Jones, required three surgeries after stepping on the rusty nail in the Walmart store and then had to ultimately suffer amputations that resulted in her losing her leg above the knee. Jones was wheelchair-bound for six years following the incident in 2015.

In her 2017 lawsuit, Jones said she was shopping at a South Carolina Walmart and felt a very sharp pain in her foot. She saw that a rusty nail had penetrated her shoe and impeded her foot. After alerting the store’s staff, Jones went to the hospital to treat the wound, but an infection occurred.

The emergency room staff cleaned the wound, and Jones received both a tetanus shot and a prescription for antibiotics to stave off infections. Despite the fast medical treatment, in only a few days, Jones had an infection in a toe, requiring her to amputate it.

Soon after, a physician told Jones she needed to have more toes removed. Jones was treated by a podiatrist and also hired a home nurse to help her treat her foot daily.

However, court documents state Jones woke up one morning and discovered her foot was black. She then required amputation above the knee and then endured rehabilitation.

The lawsuit claims Walmart’s employees “knew or would have known” about unsafe conditions for customers in the South Carolina store.

Roy Willey IV, an attorney working for Jones, said the jury sent a powerful message to Walmart.

“The jury sent a message to Walmart that if you come into Florence County and injure one of their own, they will make sure that person is taken care of,” said Willey.

The lawsuit states Jones's amputations “resulted in her loss of enjoyment of life and a change in her personality, all to the permanent detriment to her health and well-being.”

Jones’s attorneys said the settlement will pay for medical expenses, construction to make her home handicap accessible, and to purchase leg prosthetics.

Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove told the Washington Post the giant retailer has filed post-trial motions in the South Carolina court.

“We do not believe the verdict is supported by the evidence or that Ms. Jones’ injury resulted from what was alleged in her complaint,” he noted.