Rabid Bat Bites MN Girl, 5, at Walmart
Cambridge, Minn. appears to be getting ready for Halloween a bit early this year, as reports claim that a 5-year-old girl named Zoe Zachrison was bitten by a bat at Walmart late last month.
The girl, riding in a shopping cart, was being pushed down the pizza aisle when a bat flew by, made a 180-degree turn, and then attacked, twice biting her in the leg.
Holly Townley, Zoe's mother, has requested that Walmart help pay the medical bills, but they have refused.
Those bills are likely steep, as WCCO-TV reports that Zoe Zachrison must undergo a series of rabies shots, and has thus far made three trips to the emergency room to deal with her high fever and achy joints.
A Walmart representative told the station that, while the company is concerned about the girl, it is not responsible for any medical claims, as they have never had a problem with bats at the store.
Sadly, there is some truth to Walmart's claim.
Zoe may have been bitten by a bat at Walmart, but if management did not know, and should not have known, that the store is home to a family of bats, then it is likely not obligated to compensate the family.
This is because Walmart is only legally obligated to conduct a reasonable inspection of the premises, and warn or repair known dangers.
As a result of this duty and Zoe Zachrison having been injured, any further customers bitten by a bat at Walmart's Cambridge location will be entitled to compensation, even if Zoe is not.
Related Resources:
- Bat attacks girl in Wal-Mart (CNN)
- Property Owners' Legal Duty to Prevent Injury (FindLaw)
- NJ Barber Bites Customer's Ear Off, Cops Say (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
