Trampled woman has history of claims against stores
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Patty VanLester of Orange City, Florida, is shown in an undated family photo.
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ORANGE CITY, Florida (AP) -- A woman who was reported trampled by Wal-Mart shoppers during a holiday sale on DVD players has filed numerous injury claims against stores since 1987, including nine against the world's largest retailer.
Patricia VanLester, a 41-year-old former Wal-Mart employee, has received thousands of dollars in injury and workers' compensation settlements from Wal-Mart, records show.
Paramedics reported finding VanLester unconscious on top of a DVD player November 28 amid of frenzy of shoppers during an early bird holiday sale. She was airlifted to a hospital, where she spent two days.
Orange City police Cmdr. Peter Thomas said Friday his department found no evidence of a crime and has closed its investigation.
Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman said he had no details about the past settlements, including one filed by VanLester's sister.
"We're going to investigate this claim as thoroughly as we have investigated the other 10 claims that this woman and her sister have brought against us in the past," he said.
VanLester's sister, Linda Ellzey, said the woman suffered a seizure and other injuries caused by shoppers who trampled her "like a herd of elephants."
A case manager for VanLester's attorney said Friday that VanLester has not filed a formal injury claim against Wal-Mart from last week's incident.
Mark O'Keefe, a spokesman for the ambulance company that treated VanLester at the store and took her to the hospital, said VanLester was admitted to the hospital's trauma center.
VanLester collected more than $1,800 in workers' compensation claims for slip-and-fall incidents at a Publix supermarket and another Wal-Mart in 1995 and 1996.
In another claim, she said she slipped on a puddle of hand lotion in 1991 while shopping at an Orange City Walgreen's pharmacy, causing "permanent injury, disability, disfigurement (and) mental anguish." The case was thrown out.
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