Walmart Sued After Employee Dies From COVID-19 Complications

An Illinois Walmart was hit with a wrongful-death lawsuit after two of its workers died from coronavirus complications.

According to NPR, the family of 51-year-old Wando Evans is suing the retail giant for willful and wanton misconduct, reckless disregard, and gross negligence. Evans, who had worked for Walmart at their Evergreen Park location for 15 years, reportedly told a manager he was experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms, but his claims were initially dismissed. The man was eventually sent home from work on March 23. He died just two days later.

The complaint accuses store managers of failing to notify its staff about symptoms exhibited amongst its staff. Just four days after Evans died, another employee at the store—41-year-old Phillip Thomas—died from the disease. The company released a statement Sunday, confirming two Evergreen Park workers had died at the end of March.

"We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of two associates at our Evergreen Park store, and we are mourning along with their families," a Walmart spokesperson told NPR. "While neither associate had been at the store in more than a week, we took action to reinforce our cleaning and sanitizing measures, which include a deep-cleaning of key areas of the store."

According to CNBC, the suit also accuses managers of failing to enforce social distancing practices and provide personal protective equipment—like gloves and masks—to its employees. The company insists, however, it has implemented extra precautionary measures across its stores, such as adding sneeze guards at the registers and placing floor markers to ensure customers are maintaining 6-feet of distance.