Walgreens Co. has responded to a lawsuit by an Orlando, Florida, woman who claims her husband died of "emotional distress" after he was allegedly forced to clean one of the store's bathrooms.
In a court document filed Monday, Walgreens denies the allegations and claims that Maria Elizarraras shouldn’t have been allowed to sue them on behalf of her deceased husband in the first place.
According to a lawsuit filed by Elizarraras, her husband, Fernando Elizarraras, went to the Walgreens on Landstar Boulevard, where he had been a long-term customer, on Oct. 15, 2012.
>> Man dies of emotional distress after being forced to clean Walgreens bathroom, widow says
After using the bathroom at the store, store employees stopped Fernando as he tried to leave and physically escorted him back to the bathroom, the lawsuit alleges.
The employees insisted the 69-year-old man clean the facility because, “You left a mess, (expletive) all over the bathroom,” the suit says.
For 20 minutes, Fernando was threatened and forced to clean and mop the bathroom before he was allowed to leave the store, his wife claims in the suit.
The incident caused Fernando to be “humiliated, disgraced and injured in his feelings, emotionally and mentally,” the lawsuit says.
The emotional distress caused by the situation was so severe that it “resulted in the death of Fernando,” the suit says.
The lawsuit was originally filed in state court but was moved to federal court on Dec. 5, according to court documents.
In Walgreens' response to Maria Elizarraras’ suit, the company said she was unable to sue them because she “has not been appointed the personal representative of (Fernando Elizarraras’) estate.”
Walgreens also argues that the wrongful death claim is invalid because the 2-year statute of limitations has elapsed, the response said.
The company concludes by saying in the response that Maria Elizarraras and her husband’s estate “have failed to mitigate their damages.”
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a plaintiff has a responsibility to take “reasonable care to stop or prevent avoidable damages.”
It was unclear in Walgreens’ response if the company was referring to Fernando Elizarraras failing to use the store’s bathroom without causing a mess, or actions he or his estate may or may not have taken after the incident to lessen the emotional distress.
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