HOUSTON — An employee of an Academy store in Rosenberg, who says she suffered a severe back injury, alleges she was forced to lift a more than 160-pound barbeque grill onto a customer's truck due to a company policy that did not allow the use of a forklift.
Ashley Zepeda of Fort Bend County filed a complaint Oct. 24 in Harris County District Court against Academy LTD, alleging negligence.
According to the complaint, on May 25, 2018, Zepeda said she felt a "sudden pop" in her back and pain that radiated into her lower back and legs after a supervisor instructed her to load the heavy grill into the customer's truck.
"The defendant did not provide the plaintiff or the plaintiff's coworkers with the necessary training, assistance or instrumentalities to perform her job safely," the suit states.
Zepeda seeks monetary relief of more than $1 million, trial by jury, interest and all other just relief. She is represented by attorney Scott Armstrong of The Armstrong Lee Savage Law Firm LLP in Houston.
Harris County District Court case number 2019-77876