$1.34 Million Verdict for Pharmacy Fall on Clear Liquid That Led to Seizure and Cerebellar Stroke
After trial: The jury returned $1.34 million on August 3, 2026, and no post-trial ruling, judgment order or settlement has been reported since. Fruth has closed its stores, so recovery likely turns on insurance.
Won by Warner Law Offices, PLLC.
Dan Carter stepped in clear liquid pooled on white tile in a Huntington pharmacy aisle and fell backward, hitting the back of his head on the edge of a metal shelf. He declined treatment and went home. Three days later he had a seizure while walking his dogs, and imaging showed an acute cerebellar stroke.
What happened
On September 14, 2021 Dan Carter walked into Fruth Pharmacy's 7th Avenue store in Huntington, West Virginia. Partway down an aisle he stepped in a clear liquid, believed to be water, pooled on white tile.
Clear liquid on white tile is effectively invisible, which is the whole point of the case. He fell backward and struck the back of his head on the edge of a metal shelf.
He told the store manager, declined medical treatment, and went home. He slept most of the next two days.
On September 17 he had a seizure while he was out walking his dogs and was taken to Cabell Huntington Hospital by ambulance. He had a second seizure in the emergency department. He was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, and CT and MRI imaging confirmed an acute focal cerebellar stroke. He has permanent cognitive impairment and an ongoing seizure disorder.
After a five-day trial the Cabell County jury returned $1,340,000 on August 3, 2026, itemized as $440,000 for future medical care, $800,000 for loss of the capacity to enjoy life, $50,000 for pain and suffering and $50,000 for mental anguish and emotional distress. The largest component by far is not the medical bill. It is what the rest of his life is now like.
Carter was represented by Nate Kuratomi and Thom Boggs of Warner Law Offices.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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