LINCOLN WOMAN AWARDED $1.8 MIL FOR LAWN MOWER INCIDENT

(08/28/2006)
Riding lawn mowers are required to shut-off after they turn over.

Wal-Mart has been faulted in a lawsuit because they failed to quit selling the mowers, allegedly after a problem was discovered.

A Lincoln County woman had part of her left arm severed when a Murray lawn mower sold by Wal-Mart failed to shut-off.

The retail giant has agreed to pay $1.8 million dollars following a lawsuit.

Joyce Burnside filed a federal lawsuit claiming her mower, built by Murray, was defective because it failed to shut off like it was supposed to after she jumped off in May 2002.

Lawyers for Burnside sued Wal-Mart because the company continued to sell the defective lawn mowers after the manufacturer went out of business.

Wal-Mart appealed the verdict and an agreement was reached this month following mediation in the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.