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A Walmart customer injury claim covers falls and injuries from hazards such as falling merchandise, carts, and unsafe parking lots. Walmart Claims Services, Inc., also called Claims Management, Inc., handles the claim.
Start with your injury and treatment, then gather the report, video, and inspection records that show what happened at the store.
How much is a Walmart slip and fall settlement?
Walmart slip and fall settlements range from $5,000 to $5,000,000+, depending on the injury and treatment. Broken wrist settlements range from $30,000 to $100,000 for treatment without surgery. For treatment with surgery, the settlement range is $100,000 to $250,000+.
Walmart Claims Services, Inc., also called Claims Management, Inc. (CMI), handles the claim. Falling at the store is not enough to prove negligence, as the Arizona Supreme Court explained in 2025; the evidence must support the claim against Walmart.
Walmart slip and fall facts
Last updated
- Injury values
- Walmart slip and fall settlements range from $5,000 to $5,000,000+ by injury.
- Wrist surgery
- Walmart broken wrist settlements are $30,000-$100,000 without surgery and $100,000-$250,000+ with surgery.
- Claims company
- Walmart Claims Services, Inc. is also called Claims Management, Inc.
- Self-insurance
- Walmart’s annual report says Walmart self-insures general liability.
- Arizona proof
- In Arizona, a fall alone does not prove that Walmart was negligent.
- Texas deadline
- The filing deadline for a Walmart injury lawsuit in Texas is two years.
Sources: the injury guides linked below; Walmart’s claims privacy notice; Walmart’s fiscal 2026 annual report; the Arizona Supreme Court; and the Texas filing law. Review your injury details with the free AI calculator with attorney review.
How much are Walmart slip and fall settlements with and without surgery?
A torn shoulder rotator cuff settlement ranges from $25,000 to $75,000 without surgery and $75,000 to $200,000 with surgery. Use the row matching your injury and treatment, whether you fell, tripped, or were struck by merchandise at Walmart.
| Injury | Without surgery | With surgery |
|---|---|---|
| Minor sprain | $5,000 - $15,000 | No surgery range |
| Moderate strain | $15,000 - $35,000 | No surgery range |
| Broken bone | $15,000 - $75,000; closed fracture treated in a cast | $100,000 - $350,000+ |
| Broken wrist | $30,000 - $100,000 | $100,000 - $250,000+ |
| Broken ankle | $25,000 - $75,000; one broken bone | $100,000 - $350,000+; two or three broken bones |
| Torn knee meniscus | $15,000 - $50,000 | $50,000 - $125,000; arthroscopic surgery |
| Knee replacement | Not a nonsurgical treatment | $150,000 - $400,000+ |
| Torn shoulder rotator cuff | $25,000 - $75,000 | $75,000 - $200,000 |
| Herniated disc | $30,000 - $100,000 | $100,000 - $350,000+ |
| Hip fracture | $50,000 - $125,000; stable fracture able to heal without surgery | $100,000 - $300,000; displaced fracture |
| Hip replacement or shattered hip socket | No nonsurgical range | $250,000 - $1,000,000+ |
| Concussion with symptoms ending in two to six weeks | $20,000 - $50,000 | No surgery range |
Brain injury ranges follow severity rather than a surgery division.
| Brain injury | Settlement range |
|---|---|
| Moderate traumatic brain injury | $100,000 - $500,000 |
| Severe traumatic brain injury | $500,000 - $5,000,000+ |
Source: the linked injury guides provide these national treatment ranges, current as of November 11, 2026.
Your injury, treatment, proof of what Walmart knew, and your own share of fault set the range. Walmart’s pages and filings, read November 11, 2026, publish no settlement figures by injury. The court awards below describe individual trials and do not supply these ranges.
The national slip and fall guide has the full injury table and government trial survey. Read how pain and suffering, fees and costs taken from a settlement, and the first settlement offer affect the decision in front of you.
Can you sue Walmart for an injury?
Yes, customers have sued Walmart and won. The Texas Court of Appeals at Texarkana affirmed a $732,630.31 jury award in 2021 after a shopper fell on a spill near the self-checkout. The Texas Court of Appeals at Dallas affirmed a $1,393,484.52 judgment in 2018 for a customer struck by a box falling from a shelf.
You need proof of the hazard and what Walmart knew, the Walmart company identified in the store’s records, and the filing deadline for your state.
What is Walmart premises liability?
Premises liability is an owner’s responsibility for injuries caused by unsafe property. Slip and fall claims are one kind; injuries from falling merchandise, carts and cart corrals, doors, and parking-lot hazards are others.
Sources: Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC v. Autrey (2021); Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC v. Bishop (2018).
Who handles a Walmart injury claim?
Walmart Claims Services, Inc. and Claims Management, Inc. (CMI) are the same company. Walmart’s privacy notice, updated July 6, 2026, identifies the company as the casualty claims administrator for Walmart and its insurance carriers. A claims administrator investigates and handles claims; “d.b.a.” means “doing business as.”
Walmart’s privacy notice says: “Walmart Claims Services, Inc. (d.b.a. "Claims Management, Inc." in some locations) is the casualty claims administrator for Walmart Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, "Walmart") and Walmart's insurance carriers.”
Rhode Island’s business record dates the name change from Claims Management, Inc. to February 4, 2020. Arkansas’s record identifies an Arkansas corporation filed May 27, 1993. Older letters and court records use the former name or CMI; later records use Walmart Claims Services.
Court records describe the claims company as part of Walmart. A federal trial court in New York called CMI a Walmart subsidiary investigating potential claims in a 2014 spilled-liquid case; another federal trial court in the same state called Walmart Claims Services an administrative unit of Walmart in a 2025 customer accident case. The company’s own 2022 Rhode Island filing describes third-party administration of workers’ compensation and insurance claims.
An outside claims company also appears in the records. The text-message terms allow messages through Walmart Claims Services or its third-party administrator; a federal trial court in Nevada described Sedgwick Claims Management Services as Walmart’s claims adjuster in a 2017 order concerning a 2013 Las Vegas fall. Match any letter to your store, incident date, and claim number.
Walmart Claims Services also handles associates’ work injury claims, according to its privacy notice; “associate” is Walmart’s word for an employee. The claims website menu lists workers’ compensation billing and medical forms, but no customer claim form as of November 11, 2026. A customer has a liability claim, so those work injury forms are not customer forms. For an employee hurt while working, use the workers’ compensation guide.
Walmart’s privacy notice says the claims company collects store camera recordings, photographs, audio and video recordings, healthcare records, and information from other companies in Walmart’s corporate family. The notice also identifies Medicare reporting and reporting to Walmart and its insurance carriers as uses of the information.
Is Walmart self-insured?
Yes. Walmart’s fiscal 2026 annual report says Walmart self-insures general liability, the category that covers customer injury claims. Self-insurance means Walmart pays those claims with its own money rather than through an outside insurer; Walmart also buys stop-loss insurance for losses above a level it keeps.
Walmart’s annual report for the year ended January 31, 2026, filed March 13, 2026, also lists workers’ compensation, auto liability, product liability, and certain employee healthcare benefits among the risks it self-insures. The report attributes higher operating expenses in part to higher U.S. self-insured general liability claims expense of “approximately $0.9 billion,” influenced by rising costs to resolve claims across retail and related industries.
Walmart’s annual report lists self-insurance liabilities of $5,525 million at January 31, 2026 and $4,976 million a year earlier for all of these kinds of claims together.
What is the Walmart injury claims phone number?
Walmart’s claims contact page lists (800) 527-0566. Both that page and Walmart’s privacy notice give the postal address with “Attn: Compliance Office”; the pages do not label it a claims mailing address.
| What | Contact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Listed office contact | Walmart Claims Services, Inc. Attn: Compliance Office PO Box 14731 Lexington, KY 40512-4731 (800) 527-0566 | Contact page; privacy notice |
| Open-claim texts | Text STOP or HELP to (844) 701-2701; for help, contact your claim representative. | Text program terms |
| Claim status | Claims Connect: claim ID plus the phone number or email given when the claim opened. | Claims Connect |
Claims Connect calls itself “Walmart’s Secure Claim Portal” and says a claim is opened at the store or club. Ask for the claim ID before leaving or when Walmart Claims Services first calls. Give a phone number or email address you will keep, then use it with the ID to sign in and follow the claim. The text program concerns an open claim; texting is not a way to open one.
Walmart’s claims pages, as of November 11, 2026, list no customer claim form, claims email address, or hours. When putting your claim to Walmart Claims Services in writing, the personal injury demand letter guide explains the contents of the letter.
Sources: Walmart, Walmart Claims Services Privacy Notice (updated July 6, 2026); Walmart Claims Services, Text Messaging Program Terms and Conditions (modified February 1, 2020); Walmart Claims Services, Contact Us; Walmart Claims Services, home page; Walmart, Claims Connect sign-in page; Rhode Island Department of State, business entity summary, Walmart Claims Services, Inc.; Arkansas Secretary of State, business entity search, Walmart Claims Services, Inc.; Rhode Island Department of State, 2022 annual report of Walmart Claims Services, Inc.; Thaqi v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2014); Kilmetis v. Walmart, Inc. (2025); Fowler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2017); Walmart Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 (filed March 13, 2026).
What happens after you fall at Walmart?
Court records describe a store report, witness statements, saved video, and contact from the claims company after a Walmart injury. Each record describes a particular case, with its own facts.
A federal trial court in Alabama described Walmart’s policy in 2024 as caring for the customer, securing the incident area, notifying management, investigating, making a report, and submitting evidence. A federal trial court in Alabama described an incident report after an insect bite in produce in 2015. A federal trial court in Louisiana named “Customer Incident Report,” “Customer Accident Report,” and witness statements in a 2017 case.
Read the incident report before signing
An incident report is the store’s written account of the event. A federal trial court in Indiana described a fall report signed by both the customer and an employee in 2020; a federal trial court in Ohio described a customer reviewing and signing her report in 2024. A federal trial court in Louisiana also described a report after an auto care center incident in 2016.
Read the report, correct anything that does not describe what happened in your words, take a phone photograph, and ask for a copy and the claim ID. A customer told a federal trial court in Louisiana in 2016 that she received the documents only after Walmart filed them in the lawsuit. A customer alleged in a federal trial court in New York in 2017 that the adjusters refused to provide his wife’s report. The research found no Walmart policy promising or refusing customers a copy.
The report and video reach the claims company
A federal trial court in Georgia described an assistant manager sending an incident report to Claims Management, Inc. in 2011, saving video for it, and receiving an adjuster’s video request two days after the incident. A federal trial court in New York described a store worker saving video, taking the customer’s statement, and sending the findings to Walmart Claims Services in 2025; the company later interviewed the customer.
What you say becomes part of the claim file and can be used in court. A federal trial court in New York ordered Walmart to produce some investigation notes in 2014 and described them as “likely admissible.” The research found no court record describing the recording of a customer’s interview. Read the adjuster recorded-statement guide for the call.
Will Walmart pay my medical bills?
The research, as of November 11, 2026, found no Walmart page, filing, or court record saying Walmart pays a customer’s medical bills before fault is decided, and none saying it never does. A federal trial court in Maine described the claims company paying medical bills in a 2020 employee work injury case; that record does not give a customer’s rules.
A friendly call does not promise payment. In one 2006 case, a federal trial court in Tennessee described a letter sent one day after a fall that gave a phone number but said nothing about paying bills; a caller reassured the family, and a later letter rejected the claim. The family said the calls led them not to use their health insurance. The court ended the fall claim before trial but let the claim that the customer had been misled proceed to trial. Keep using your own health insurance and save every letter.
Sources: Bennett v. Walmart Inc. (2024); Taite v. Wal-Mart Supercenter (2015); Pinedexter v. Wal-Mart Stores (2017); Farris v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2020); Combs v. Wal-Mart Inc. (2024); Mergist v. Wal-Mart Stores (2016); Kidney v. Webster (2017); Woodard v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP (2011); Kilmetis v. Walmart, Inc. (2025); Thaqi v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2014); Benson v. Wal-Mart Stores East (2020); Farmer v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. (2006).
Does Walmart keep video of a fall?
A Walmart document quoted in a federal trial court’s 2017 Nevada ruling called for video from one hour before the incident through one hour after it. Give the store and Walmart Claims Services the exact time, verified against your receipt or phone, and ask in writing for every view of the spot for the hours before and after.
A federal trial court in Nevada quoted a Walmart preservation directive in a 2017 order about a 2013 garden-center fall: “Surveillance video one hour before and one hour after depicting where the incident occurred.” The directive also covered any involved pallet, end cap, or cart and the area where a product containing the substance was displayed or sold. Another Walmart document quoted by the court required pulling video immediately, including a nearby aisle. After a worker cleaned another nearby substance without photographing it, the judge allowed the jury to infer the substances came from the same spill.
The Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal described a Walmart policy in 2025 permitting unneeded footage to be overwritten after 30 days. Walmart saved an hour before and after the reported time, but the reported time was wrong and the clip missed the fall. A federal trial court in Nevada described video being overwritten when the system filled about 45 days after a fall in 2013.
The store security footage guide explains the written request for footage and the rules for keeping evidence.
Sources: Fowler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2017); Pineda, Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal, 2025; Patton, federal court in Nevada, 2013.
What do you have to prove against Walmart?
You need evidence of the hazard, what Walmart knew or should have known, and how the hazard injured you. The fact that you fell does not establish negligence: the Arizona Supreme Court made that point in a 2025 case involving a customer who tripped over a case of water.
The Texas Supreme Court set out what a customer must prove in a 2002 Walmart case. Florida’s temporary-substance law requires evidence that the business knew or should have known of the substance. The slip and fall guide compares the proof rules state by state.
Walmart’s floor-safety procedures in court records
- A federal trial court in Georgia described hourly loudspeaker announcements for “safety sweeps” in 2010, with employees trained to inspect their areas for hazards.
- A federal trial court in Georgia described training for “zone defense” and safety sweeps in 2021, including immediately removing any hazard found.
- The federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals described Walmart’s scrubber rules in a 2018 Texas case: wet-floor signs in areas to be scrubbed and trail-mopping anything the scrubber left behind.
- A federal trial court in Illinois named a “Towel in Pocket” program in 2016.
Breaking an internal rule does not decide every claim
In Texas, Walmart’s own rules do not raise the legal duty, but they can help show what happened. A federal trial court in Texas ruled in 2024 that the policies did not increase Walmart’s standard of care or establish that it should have known of the hazard. The federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a judgment for Walmart in a 2018 Texas scrubber case where the policy supported the customer’s account that Walmart created the spill.
A federal trial court in Florida rejected a customer’s zone-defense argument in 2017. In a 2023 Sam’s Club case, another federal trial court in Florida quoted state appeals rulings that internal safety policies do not themselves set the legal standard of care and ruled for the club.
Recent inspections helped Walmart win Georgia cases. The federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals found Walmart’s inspection procedures reasonable as a matter of law in a 2022 Georgia fall case. A federal trial court in Georgia ruled for Walmart in 2014 after a manager inspected under the zone-defense procedure within fifteen to twenty minutes of the fall.
A federal trial court in Nevada left the effect of Walmart’s water policy and training to a jury in a 2024 garden-center case. A Walmart witness said the policy required a spill or hazard never to be left unattended, while a manager said that policy applied indoors and not in the garden department.
In 2020, a federal trial court in New York allowed the jury to hear evidence of Walmart’s own standards, rejecting its argument that those standards exceeded the legal requirement. New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, an intermediate state appeals court, ruled in 2015 that an alleged internal-rule violation did not create a factual issue requiring trial.
The research found no California ruling on whether Walmart’s own safety procedures set the legal duty. Ask for sweep and inspection records for the hour before your fall along with the video. Georgia’s inspection records show why the time matters; the Texas scrubber case shows how a store procedure supports the account of how a spill began.
Sources: Perez, Arizona Supreme Court, 2025; Reece, Texas Supreme Court, 2002; Florida temporary-substance law, section 768.0755; Heath v. Wal-Mart Stores (2010); Wright v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2021); Garcia v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC (2018); Fetzer v. Wal-Mart Stores (2016); Limon v. Walmart, Inc. (2024); Ayers v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. (2017); Felder v. Sam's East, Inc. (2023); Borkowski v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2022); King v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2014); Fragoso v. Wal-Mart Inc. (2024); Manzone v. Wal-Mart Stores (2020); Byrd v. Walmart, Inc. (2015).
What have courts decided in Walmart slip and fall cases?
Customers have won Walmart fall verdicts, Walmart has won judgments before trial, and appeals courts have ordered new trials. A verdict is a jury’s decision; a judgment is the court’s order. Neither word means the parties settled.
| State, court, year | Hazard and injury | Result and later status |
|---|---|---|
Texas, Court of Appeals at Texarkana, 2021 | A shopper fell near the self-checkout in Palestine in 2016 after another customer had told a cashier of the spill. Neck injury treated with spinal fusion. | The jury awarded $732,630.31 for past and future pain, mental anguish, and medical expenses. The intermediate appeals court affirmed the judgment. Court record |
Texas, federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2022 | Cold, congealed grease lay in front of a deli hot case in Weatherford. | The published ruling reversed the judgment for Walmart and returned the case for further proceedings. The grease’s condition could help a jury decide how long it had been on the floor. Court record |
Texas, federal trial court, 2025 | A light-colored cherry dropped from a customer’s basket onto a light gray floor less than three minutes before the fall. | Walmart received judgment before trial. Court record |
California, Orange County Superior Court jury, 2026 | A wet entrance floor at the Anaheim Supercenter caused a fall in 2019. | Exlitem’s verdict report gives $2,091,371.58 in total damages, with 96% fault assigned to Walmart and 4% to the customer. Verdict report |
California, San Diego County Superior Court jury, 2024 | A customer fell because of a parking-lot pothole in 2020. Major spinal fusion surgery. | Courtroom View Network reported “a roughly $2.45 million verdict”, no fault for the customer, and 35% fault for another business sharing the lot that had settled. Trial news report |
California, federal trial court, 2025 | Liquid on the floor of a San Diego store caused a fall. | The court denied Walmart’s request to end the case before trial. The timing and occurrence of an inspection, and the time the liquid remained, required trial. Court record |
Florida, Orange County Ninth Judicial Circuit jury, 2025 | A rug or mat in an Orlando Neighborhood Market produce section caused a trip in 2020. | Exlitem reports $1,698,000 in total damages, 30% fault for Walmart and 70% for the customer; the court ordered Walmart to pay $509,400. The report gives no lawsuit filing date. Verdict report |
Florida, 4th District Court of Appeal, 2012 | A shopper fell while entering Walmart and alleged that a slippery substance was on the floor. She said her injuries required neck and shoulder surgeries. | The award was $99,158: $49,158 for medical expenses and $50,000 for past pain and suffering. The trial court’s judgment gave her 20% of the damages because she was 80% at fault. The intermediate appeals court ordered a new damages trial because of an improper argument by Walmart’s lawyer about her doctor. Court record |
Georgia, Court of Appeals, October 29, 2026 | A customer fell in a Valdosta store in November 2020. Knee and ankle injuries; the customer connected surgery to the fall, while Walmart disputed the cause of the knee problem. She sought $186,000 in medical bills. | The jury’s $975,000 award was reversed. The intermediate appeals court ordered a new trial because the customer’s lawyer used unrelated dollar comparisons in closing argument. The customer plans to ask the Supreme Court of Georgia for review, so the new-trial order can still change. Court record |
Nevada, federal trial court, 2024 | A blind customer slipped on garden-department water in Las Vegas after passing a cone. | The negligence claim went forward to a jury. The judge found a jury could decide either way on the cleanup and cone placement; the ruling sent the claim toward trial without awarding money. Court record |
Illinois, federal trial court, 2025 | Water remained at a restroom entrance after cleaning; workers said the cone was not positioned as store policy required. Left-knee damage led to knee replacement; neck fusion followed later. | The court refused Walmart’s request to end the case before trial. The ruling did not decide the customer’s compensation. Court record |
Arizona, federal trial court, 2026 | A customer identified a small rock-like object in the vestibule. | Store video showed the alleged object could not have caused the fall. The court entered judgment for Walmart. Court record |
Washington, Court of Appeals, 2017, unpublished | Clear shampoo was spilled in a Sunnyside aisle; store video showed a worker checking that aisle about an hour before the fall. | Walmart won. The intermediate appeals court said shopping in a self-service section did not automatically excuse proof that the store knew or should have known of the hazard. Court record |
In the 2026 Georgia decision, the Court of Appeals reversed the $975,000 verdict because the lawyer compared pain and suffering with an expert’s $8,000 trial-day fee and minimum wages between $7.25 and $12.15 an hour. Noneconomic damages means pain and suffering and similar losses. Georgia’s law effective April 21, 2025 permits a lawyer to argue a dollar value for those losses only from the injury evidence; the court said the law does not ban “unit value” or “per diem” arguments. The result was an order for a new trial. On November 6, 2026, the customer notified the court that she plans to ask the Supreme Court of Georgia to review the ruling. The Supreme Court of Georgia gave her more time to file that request on November 10, 2026, so the new-trial order can still change.
The $7.5 million Walmart verdict repeated online was a November 2017 verdict by a Russell County, Alabama jury for a 59-year-old man who caught his foot in a wooden pallet beneath a Phenix City watermelon display and broke his hip; Boston 25 News reported $2.5 million in compensation and $5 million in punitive damages. Punitive damages are money meant to punish rather than repay a loss. Insurance Journal reported Walmart’s plan to appeal, and the research found no record of the appeal’s outcome.
The Florida mat verdict report shows the customer’s fault reducing the court-ordered amount. The court ordered Walmart to pay 30% of the damages even though the customer was 70% at fault, but the report gives no filing date. Florida’s 2023 law bars any recovery for a customer more than 50% at fault in a lawsuit filed after March 24, 2023; see the Florida filing-date rule.
Sources: Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC v. Autrey (2021); Seigler v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, L.L.C. (2022); Alanis v. Walmart, Inc. (2025); Exlitem verdict report, Vega v. Walmart, Inc. (Orange County, January 27, 2026); Courtroom View Network, Morrow v. Walmart Inc. (San Diego, March 27, 2024 report); Staska v. Walmart, Inc. (2025); Exlitem verdict report, Riggins v. Walmart Stores East, LP (Orange County, Florida, September 2025); Reffaie v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2012); Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. v. Medders (2026); Court of Appeals of Georgia docket, Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. v. Medders, A26A1599; Fragoso v. Wal-Mart Inc. (2024); Sanders v. Walmart Inc. (2025); Brown v. Walmart Inc. (2026); McPherson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2017); Boston 25 News, November 2017; Insurance Journal, November 14, 2017.
What about falling merchandise, carts, doors, and other Walmart injuries?
Walmart customer claims also concern merchandise falling from shelves, carts and cart corrals, doors, and parking-lot defects. The claims company, incident report, and filing deadline stay the same; the evidence must address the particular hazard.
| State, court, year | Incident and injury | Result and later status |
|---|---|---|
Texas, Court of Appeals at Dallas, 2018 | A box fell onto a customer’s head as an employee stocked from the other side of the shelf. Neck fusion surgery. | The jury awarded $1,393,484.52, and the trial court entered judgment on that award. The intermediate appeals court affirmed. Court record |
Texas, federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2026, unpublished | A man tripped while leaving a shopping-cart corral in the parking lot. | The judgment for Walmart was affirmed because no evidence showed Walmart knew the corral was dangerous. Court record |
California, federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2020, memorandum | A can fell and struck a customer. | The judgment for Walmart was affirmed because the customers supplied no evidence that the can had been stocked dangerously. Court record |
Florida, 4th District Court of Appeal, 2019 | A 72-year-old man tripped over a raised manhole cover in a Walmart parking lot at night. Serious head trauma. | The intermediate appeals court reversed the judgment for Walmart because disputed facts required a trial. Court record |
Georgia, Supreme Court, 2025 | Two workers backing a pallet jack with a load struck a customer’s motorized scooter in Conyers. Mild traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome. | The jury awarded $1 million as nominal damages. The court canceled the judgment and sent the case back because an award that large cannot be nominal. Court record |
Nominal damages means a token amount. The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled in the 2025 pallet-jack case that a nominal award cannot be $1 million and sent the case back. In the California falling-can case, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in its 2020 memorandum that the customers had not shown dangerous stocking. When anyone was able to move the item last, the customer still needed evidence of how the store stocked it. For a parking-lot defect, evidence of what Walmart knew matters.
A federal trial court in Texas addressed a manager’s responsibility in a 2024 Sam’s Club door case. The court required a duty independent of the employer’s duty and dismissed the manager; the federal-court section explains why that affected where the case proceeded.
Sources: Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC v. Bishop (2018); Rios v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, L.L.C. (2026); Blackburn v. Walmart Inc. (2020); Gomez Cruz v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2019); Walmart Stores East, LP v. Leverette (2025); Cortes v. Sam's West, Inc. (2024).
Is Walmart hard to sue? What do federal rulings show?
A search of federal court rulings on govinfo.gov found 21 rulings on Walmart requests to end customer slip, trip, or fall claims before trial between January 1, 2025 and November 11, 2026. Walmart won in 16; all or part of the customer’s claim continued in 5. Sixteen of the 21 rulings came from Texas.
Summary judgment is a ruling before trial that ends a case or part of it because the judge finds nothing for a jury to decide. The govinfo.gov search covered Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Illinois, Arizona, Washington, and New York. Govinfo.gov holds only the rulings each court sends to it, so this count is not a national win rate or a customer’s chance of winning.
The govinfo.gov search found two claims continuing in full and three in part, with all three partial results in Texas. California, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, and New York supplied one ruling each; Georgia, Nevada, and Washington supplied none.
The usual reason for Walmart’s wins in these records was missing proof of how long a hazard had remained. A federal trial court in Texas described a spill lasting “approximately 20 seconds in total” before the fall in 2026; another federal trial court in Texas described ice beside an ice machine lasting “three minutes and 19 seconds” in 2025. The federal trial court in Texas handling the cherry case in 2025 found the fruit had been there less than three minutes.
Other rulings turned on different evidence. A federal trial court in Texas found a wet-floor sign and spoken warning adequate in 2026; a federal trial court in Arizona ruled in 2026 that video disproved the alleged object’s role in the fall; and a federal trial court in Florida ruled in 2026 that proof did not connect another customer’s electric-cart collision to the injury.
Sources: govinfo.gov, United States Courts opinions; Gonzalez, federal court in Texas, 2026; Gonzalez, district judge adoption, 2026; Al-Atoum, district judge adoption, 2026; Bollman, federal court in Texas, 2025; Bollman, district judge adoption, 2025; Alanis v. Walmart, Inc. (2025); Ugbaja v. Walmart Inc. (2026); Brown v. Walmart Inc. (2026); Montes v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2026).
Why do Walmart cases move to federal court, and which company is named?
A Walmart case can move from a state’s courts to the separate federal court system when the parties are citizens of different states and more than $75,000 is disputed, excluding interest and costs. “Removal” means the defendant’s request to make that move.
Court records use different Walmart company names. Walmart’s 2017 name-change filing says Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. became Walmart Inc. on February 1, 2018; older records retain the former name.
- A federal trial court in Texas identified Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC as the store operator in a 2016 ruling about a 2015 fall.
- A federal trial court in California recorded Walmart Inc. and Walmart Claims Services answering a complaint in 2025. The research found no record identifying which company operates California stores.
- A federal trial court in Florida identified Wal-Mart Stores East, LP as the proper defendant in 2024.
- A federal trial court in Georgia named Wal-Mart Stores East, LP in 2026.
- A federal trial court in New York identified Wal-Mart Stores East, LP as the Supercenter’s operator in 2017.
The company operating a store is not necessarily named Walmart Inc. Naming the claims company does not establish that it caused the injury: a federal trial court in Florida dismissed it in 2019 because it neither owned nor operated the store and was not involved in the accident. A federal trial court in Nebraska dismissed Walmart Claims Services for good in 2024, so the customer cannot file that claim against the company again.
Different-state citizenship and the removal deadlines
Federal law treats a corporation as a citizen of the state where it was incorporated and the state of its main office. A federal trial court in Louisiana identified Walmart Inc. and Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC as citizens of Delaware and Arkansas in 2025; a federal trial court in Georgia described Wal-Mart Stores East, LP as a citizen of both states in 2026.
When a customer outside Delaware or Arkansas sues only Walmart and claims more than $75,000, Walmart can request federal court. Adding a store manager from the customer’s state changes the question if state law supports a claim against that manager. The federal trial court in Nevada described the 2024 garden-center case as removed on different-state citizenship grounds.
Federal removal law gives the defendant 30 days after receiving the initial court papers to file its notice. For a case that becomes removable later on different-state citizenship grounds, the law imposes a one-year limit from the lawsuit’s start unless the judge finds that the customer acted in bad faith to prevent removal.
A Georgia case moved more than once
A federal trial court in Georgia sent a Walmart injury case back to state court on August 23, 2026. The customer first sued Walmart and the store manager in state court; Walmart moved the case to federal court, where the judge found the manager had been improperly added because he was not working at the store on the incident date. The customer then named the assistant manager and the case returned to state court. Walmart moved it a third time; the court sent it back to the State Court of Athens-Clarke County because the removal came after the one-year limit.
Courts have ruled both ways on store managers
A federal trial court in Texas kept a store worker in a 2016 fall case after the worker moved a bottle and did not mark the spill, so the case stayed in state court. A federal trial court in Texas dismissed the manager in the 2024 Sam’s Club door case because individual responsibility required a duty separate from the employer’s duty.
A federal trial court in Georgia returned a case to state court in 2010 because state law allowed the possibility of manager liability. A federal trial court in Illinois returned a case in 2015 where the manager had been managing near the time of the injury. The state’s law and what the manager did decide whether the claim supports keeping that manager in the lawsuit.
Sources: 28 U.S.C. 1332; 28 U.S.C. 1441; 28 U.S.C. 1446; Walmart Inc., Form 8-K, name change (December 6, 2017); Richardson v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC (2016); McKnight v. Walmart Inc. (2025); Romero Leon v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP (2024); Williams v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2026); Kidney v. Webster (2017); McBride (Claims Management, Inc. dismissed), federal court in Florida, 2019; Byars v. Walmart, Inc. (2024); Ginn v. Walmart Inc. (2025); Fragoso v. Wal-Mart Inc. (2024); Cortes v. Sam's West, Inc. (2024); Stephens v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2010); Lambert v. Wal-Mart Stores (2015).
How long do you have to sue Walmart for a fall?
The lawsuit deadline is two years in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Illinois, and Arizona, and three years in Washington and New York. Florida’s two-year period applies to injuries on or after March 24, 2023; earlier injuries have a four-year period. The laws linked in the table set these periods.
These deadlines concern a lawsuit against Walmart, a company. Government property has shorter notice deadlines, covered in the national slip and fall guide. A “statute of limitations” is the deadline for filing a lawsuit; the personal injury filing deadline guide explains the term.
A Florida injury before March 24, 2023 kept the older 4-year period. Florida’s 2023 law also bars recovery for a person more than 50% responsible for their own harm in lawsuits filed after March 24, 2023. The injury date controls the filing period; the lawsuit filing date controls that fault rule. See fault rules by state for the other states.
Sources: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003; California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1; Florida Statutes 95.11; Florida 2023 law, chapter 15; Williams v. Durden, Georgia Court of Appeals, 2018 (2018); Nevada Revised Statutes 11.190; Illinois personal injury filing law; Arizona Revised Statutes 12-542; Washington RCW 4.16.080; New York CPLR 214.
What should you do if you are injured at Walmart?
Get medical care, report the injury at the store, and request the evidence in writing within days. Keep using your health insurance; a friendly claims call is not a payment promise.
Get care for your injuries
Tell your doctor what happened, where you were in Walmart, and which parts of your body hurt.
Tell the store manager and read the report
Before leaving, report the injury to a manager. Read the incident report before signing, make sure it describes the event in your words, photograph the report, and request a copy and your claim ID.
Record the hazard and the witnesses
Take photographs of the spot, the hazard, nearby signs or cones, and your shoes. Collect the names and phone numbers of witnesses and the employees who responded.
Send the written video and inspection request
Within days, ask Walmart to keep all camera views of the spot for the hours before and after the injury. Ask for sweep and inspection records covering the hour before it happened.
Save the claims correspondence
For each call from the claims company, note the date, caller’s name, and what was said. Keep every letter. A reassuring call does not commit Walmart to paying your bills; continue using your own health insurance.
Sign in to Claims Connect
Use the claim ID and the phone number or email address you gave when the store opened the claim to view its status.
Write down your filing deadline
Find the state where you were hurt in the deadline table and note the deadline for filing a lawsuit.
Use the free AI calculator with attorney review
Enter the Walmart incident, your injury, and your treatment in the free AI calculator with attorney review.
Use the free AI calculator with attorney review for the final step.
Sources: Walmart, Claims Connect sign-in page; Bennett v. Walmart Inc. (2024); Farmer v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. (2006); Fowler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2017); Heath v. Wal-Mart Stores (2010).
Walmart slip and fall and injury claim questions
What is the average Walmart slip and fall settlement?
Walmart’s pages and filings publish no average Walmart settlement as of November 11, 2026. Walmart slip and fall settlements range from $5,000 to $5,000,000+ by injury and treatment.
How much are Walmart slip and fall settlements without surgery?
A broken wrist settlement without surgery ranges from $30,000 to $100,000. For a torn knee meniscus treated without surgery, the settlement range is $15,000 to $50,000.
How much are Walmart slip and fall settlements with surgery?
A broken wrist settlement with surgery ranges from $100,000 to $250,000+. A torn knee meniscus treated with arthroscopic surgery has a $50,000 to $125,000 settlement range; knee replacement has a $150,000 to $400,000+ range.
Can I sue Walmart for an injury?
Yes, customers can sue Walmart for injuries caused by unsafe property. You must prove the claim under the law of the state where you were hurt. The Arizona Supreme Court explained in 2025 that a fall by itself does not prove negligence. You have two years to sue Walmart in Texas, California, and Georgia, or three years in Washington and New York.
Is premises liability the same as slip and fall?
A slip and fall is one type of premises liability claim. Falling merchandise, carts and cart corrals, doors, and parking-lot hazards also cause store injury claims; the evidence must show how that particular hazard caused the injury and what Walmart knew.
Has anyone ever won a lawsuit against Walmart?
Yes, the Texas Court of Appeals at Texarkana affirmed a customer’s judgment in a Walmart spill case in 2021. An Orange County Superior Court jury returned a customer’s verdict in California in 2026, according to Exlitem. Outcomes also change on appeal: the Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed a customer’s fall verdict and ordered a new trial in 2026, and Georgia’s highest court can still review that decision, while the Washington Court of Appeals ruled for Walmart in an unpublished 2017 shampoo-spill decision.
How do I report an injury at Walmart?
A customer reports a Walmart injury to the store manager before leaving. Ask for an incident report and claim ID, read the report before signing, photograph it, and request your copy. Walmart’s Claims Connect sign-in page says the claim is opened at the store or club.
Who handles Walmart injury claims, and what is the phone number for CMI?
Walmart Claims Services, Inc., also called Claims Management, Inc. (CMI), handles Walmart injury claims. The Walmart Claims Services contact page gives (800) 527-0566. Both the contact page and privacy notice label the postal contact “Attn: Compliance Office”; neither labels it a claims mailing address.
How do I check my Walmart claim status?
Your Walmart claim status is available through Claims Connect with the claim ID and the phone number or email address you gave when the claim opened. The sign-in page calls Claims Connect “Walmart’s Secure Claim Portal”. Ask the store or claims representative for the ID if you do not have it.
Is Walmart self-insured for customer injuries?
Yes, Walmart’s fiscal 2026 annual report says Walmart self-insures general liability, the category covering customer injury claims. Walmart pays claims from its own money and buys stop-loss insurance for losses above the level it keeps.
Will Walmart pay my medical bills after a customer injury?
The research found no Walmart document or court record establishing that Walmart pays customer medical bills before fault is decided, or that it never does. A customer’s liability claim differs from an employee’s work injury claim. Continue using your own health insurance and keep the claims letters; a friendly call is not a promise of payment.
Should I give Walmart Claims Services a recorded statement?
Your statements to Walmart Claims Services become part of its claim file and can be used in court. The research found interviews and written investigation notes, but no court record describing a recorded customer interview.
Will Walmart settle out of court, and how long does a claim take?
Walmart fall cases have reached juries in Texas, California, Florida, and Georgia. The research found no Walmart settlement rate or record of how long Walmart takes to settle or pay. Court verdicts describe trials, and a ruling allowing a claim to continue does not show that it later settled.
Does Walmart keep security video after a fall?
A Walmart document quoted by a federal trial court in Nevada in 2017 called for video covering one hour before and one hour after the incident. The Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal described a policy allowing unneeded footage to be overwritten after 30 days in 2025; the saved clip in that case used the wrong reported time and missed the fall.
How long do I have to sue Walmart after a fall?
Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Illinois, and Arizona allow two years to sue; Washington and New York allow three. Florida gives you two years for injuries on or after March 24, 2023, and four years for injuries before that date.
Do these injury claim steps apply to a fall at Sam’s Club?
Yes, a Sam’s Club fall uses the same claims company and the steps on this page. Walmart’s privacy notice says the company receives information from Sam’s Club, and Claims Connect says claims open “at the store or club.” Walmart’s fiscal 2026 annual report also names higher self-insured general liability claims expense at Sam’s Club. A federal trial court in Pennsylvania described the claims company as the club’s risk management division in a 2015 fall case. Court records name Sam’s West, Inc. in the Texas door case and Sam’s East, Inc. in the Florida safety-policy case.
How much is the Walmart settlement check per person? Is Walmart sending refund checks?
Walmart settlement checks come from the weighted-groceries and Spark Driver pay class settlements. A customer injury claim belongs to the individual injured customer. In Kukorinis v. Walmart Inc., a federal court case in Florida, Walmart paid $45 million into escrow for the weighted-groceries settlement, according to the class lawyers’ August 8, 2025 motion to distribute the settlement. Purchases covered weighted meat, poultry, pork, seafood, and bagged citrus bought in person from October 19, 2018 through January 19, 2024. Claims were due June 5, 2024; the settlement site’s December 2025 update says approved payments were distributed, and its May 2026 update says new claim forms will be rejected. Walmart denied wrongdoing. Separately, the Utah Department of Commerce announced a $100 million multistate Spark Driver settlement on February 26, 2026, with up to $79 million paid or to be paid directly to drivers. Neither settlement supplies a per-person customer injury amount.
For the stages between the injury and resolution, read how long settlements take.
Sources: Walmart, Walmart Claims Services Privacy Notice (updated July 6, 2026); Walmart Claims Services, Contact Us; Walmart, Claims Connect sign-in page; Walmart Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 (filed March 13, 2026); Perez, Arizona Supreme Court, 2025; Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC v. Autrey (2021); Exlitem verdict report, Vega v. Walmart, Inc. (Orange County, January 27, 2026); Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. v. Medders (2026); McPherson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2017); Farmer v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. (2006); Thaqi v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (2014); Kilmetis v. Walmart, Inc. (2025); Pineda, Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal, 2025; Florida 2023 law, chapter 15; Laco v. Sam's East, Inc. (2015); Cortes v. Sam's West, Inc. (2024); Felder v. Sam's East, Inc. (2023); Walmart Weighted Goods Settlement, official site; Kukorinis v. Walmart Inc., class counsel's motion to distribute (filed August 8, 2025); Utah Department of Commerce, February 26, 2026.
Read individual reported outcomes in the personal injury settlements and verdicts database, including the event, injury, and reported result.
Cite this data
SetCalc. "Walmart Slip and Fall and Injury Settlement Calculator." Updated November 13, 2026. https://setcalc.com/guides/walmart-slip-and-fall-settlement-calculator.
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