Louisiana Woman Wins 11K After Slipping On Bell Pepper At Grocery Store

A Louisiana woman slipped on a bell pepper in a local grocery store and was awarded $11,000 for her injuries. The grocery store sought to overturn the unanimous decision made by the Fourth Circuit of Appeal, however they were denied.

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Angela Expose was injured after she fell near a checkout aisle at a Louisiana grocery store on Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans in Mid-City, according to FOX 8. Video footage showed in court captures the moment a green bell pepper fell out of a customers basket near the checkout area.

The surveillance video shows that the bell pepper remained on the on floor of the grocery store for a little over 15 minutes. Expose then slipped on the rouge bell pepper and fell down as she was pushing her shopping cart into line to checkout.

After tripping, she realized what caused her fall, 'it looked like it had been crushed when she stepped on it," according to Judge Cossich Lobrano. He says that she did not see the bell pepper on the floor until after she tripped and fell.

He also stated that Expose was unsure how the pepper ended up on the floor or if any of the grocery store employees knew it before she tripped and fell.

"She did not see the pepper on the floor before she stepped on it, and she did not know how the pepper came to be on the floor. She was unaware whether any Rouses employee knew of the pepper’s presence on the floor before she fell."

The store manager confirmed that employees "monitor the floors on a regular basis, pretty much all-day," and "Any time you see something that may have fallen, it is your responsibility as an employee to stop and then find somebody to assist them until it’s cleaned up.”

Unfortunatley the cashier working the checkout lane where the bell pepper fell did not check her aisle prior to the accident.

In June 2023, according to FOX 8, the City Court judge awarded Expose $6,500 in 'general damages' and an additional $5,001.50 in 'special damages' which total $11,501.50.

The grocery store did file an appeal stating that 'Expose's claims were not sufficiently proven'; however, it was unanimously denied prior to the Supreme Court review that was also denied Tuesday.