Walmart Sued For Wrongful Death By Late Employee's Estate

Walmart Inc. WMT is being sued for its failure to protect workers by the estate of an employee who died of complications caused by COVID-19.

What Happened

The estate of a worker named Wando Evans is suing Walmart for failing to protect workers with safety equipment such as masks and gloves, failing to suitably disinfect the store and not disclosing risks that workers faced, reported MarketWatch.

Evans died on March 25, aged 51, after working as a Walmart associate for 15 years. A colleague of Evans’ who worked with him at the company store in Evergreen Park Illinois, also died four days later from COVID-19 related complications.

Tony Kalogerakos, an attorney for Evan’s estate, told Marketwatch that the deaths of the employees could have been avoided if Walmart’s management had been “more transparent with teammates and customers.”

Why It Matters

The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, seeks unspecified damages.

Walmart released a statement on March 31, promising masks and gloves, even though the CDC does not recommend them.

The company says the masks will arrive in 1-2 weeks. “They will be high-quality masks, but not N95 respirators – which should be reserved for at-risk healthcare workers,” said the retailer.

Walmart has instituted temperature checks, and anyone with a fever of 100 degrees would be paid for reporting to work, and asked  to return home and seek treatment “if necessary.” 

Walmart wants to hire 150,000 additional employees to deal with rising consumer demand caused by the pandemic and has promised to pay $550 million in bonuses to workers.

Price Action

Walmart shares traded 0.53% lower at $125.40 in the after-hours session on Monday. The shares had closed the regular session 5.52% higher at $126.07.

Photo Credit: Walmart Corporate via Wikimedia.