A former Walmart employee suing over a workplace shooting has a month to file his complaint after a Virginia judge ruled the case likely falls under workers’ compensation jurisdiction.
Briana Tyler filed a $50 million lawsuit against Walmart Inc. after she was nearly shot in November by co-worker Andre Bing during a rampage that claimed the lives of six workers at a Chesapeake Walmart.
The suit was originally filed in federal court but was later refiled in state court. The now deceased Mr. Bing is also a defendant.
Walmart filed for dismissal, saying Tyler’s injuries should be covered by workers’ compensation, but Tyler claims there is an exception because she was personally targeted by Mr. Bing.
“If the attack is personal, then it̵
7;s beyond the scope of the workers,” said Mark Favaloro, Tyler’s attorney.On Wednesday, a judge in Chesapeake Circuit Court upheld Walmart’s standoff motion seeking dismissal on the grounds that the case should be exclusive. The judge agreed, but Tyler was given 30 days to file the lawsuit with additional information on why it should remain in the tort system, Favaloro said.
Tyler claims that while the bullets missed her, she was still targeted specifically by Mr. Bing during the shooting.
“Plaintiff was able to escape the enraged Bing by running as fast as she could, injuring both of her legs and experiencing acute chest pains while being chased by Bing,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit accuses Walmart of failing to fire Mr. Bing despite exhibiting violent tendencies towards his co-workers.
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