Lowe’s
PITTSBURGH – A Pennsylvania woman says she was attacked by a raccoon at her local Lowe’s and has filed a lawsuit after the rabies vaccine left her with Bell’s palsy.
Lisa Halstead sued Lowe’s this month in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, alleging that two years earlier she was the victim of the company’s negligence. Employees at the store in Robinson Township were aware there were three raccoons in the lawn and garden section but refused to protect customers from them, she says.
Halstead said she was simply there to shop for flowers but felt a pain in her left foot, looking down to see the three animals under a shelf. When she pulled her foot away, she saw a claw mark on the top of her left foot.
“A manager was called to the register and confirmed to Mrs. Halstead that Lowe’s Robinson was aware of the raccoons,” the suit says. “In fact, the manager explained that one raccoon had previously been caught.
“However, Lowe’s Robinson employees had failed to locate the remaining raccoons but knew they were somewhere in the lawn and garden area for about a week.”
Halstead asked that the animals be captured and tested for rabies, but she never received a response after an animal-control company was summoned, the suit says. The store had prioritized profits over safety by keeping the garden area open while raccoons roamed it, it adds.
Without knowledge of whether the raccoon was rabid, Halstead was told by doctors to get the vaccine.
“Within a few days of receiving the first rabies shot, Mrs. Halstead began to notice a sharp, shooting pain in the back of her neck and a tingling in her lips,” the suit says. “Mrs. Halstead also noticed a sudden loss of hearing in her left ear while sitting in a restaurant with her husband; she found this loss very frightening and upsetting.
“Then, her left eye began to droop.”
Though Bell’s palsy is usually temporary, Halstead remains unable to fully close her left eye, she says, and she will be at greater risk for it returning in the future. To sleep, she must put gauze over her eye to avoid damage to it.
“Similarly, she is no longer able to enjoy being outdoors and tending to her flowers and plants as she used to, given that her left eye will be irritated by any sort of wind,” the suit says.
Attorney Lisa Henry represents Halstead.
