Wal-Mart Plastic Bag Lawsuit: Nebraska Man William Freis Says Overfilled Bag Caused Wife's Death

William Freis is suing Wal-Mart for the untimely death of his wife that he says was caused by a plastic bag. The events leading to the suit, as chronicled by the Lincoln Journal Star, start with his wife, Lynette Fries shopping at Wal-Mart located in Bellevue, Neb. back in 2010. Lynette bought two 42-oz. containers of La Choy soy sauce as well as a large back of rice, which an employee put in one bag. The bag proved too flimsy to do the job and broke while she was walking to her vehicle, causing the soy sauce to fall on her foot, resulting in broken bones and a sizeable gash.

Gage Cobb, William's attorney, said in the suit that the gash caused a serious infection over the course of months, which required extensive treatment. Lynette needed several doses of antibiotics and two surgeries, which were ultimately unsuccessful in curing the injury. She died in March 2011 after the infection spread throughout her body. In addition to suing Walmart Inc., William sued the manufacturers of the bag, Hilex Poly Co., and the distributor of the bags, Bunzl Distribution.

The case, which was transfered to U.S. District Court in Omaha last week, alleges that Wal-Mart was negligent in training its employees to pack bags to prevent overflow and subsequent injuries. The suit also claims that Lynette was provided with a defective grocery bag. The suit seeks more than $656,000 in damages, including her medical bills, pain and suffering, and burial expenses. Wal-mart attorney Heidi Guttau-Fox has pushed to move the case to federal court. None of the companies involved in the suit have released a statement about the allegations.