SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah family is speaking out after filing a lawsuit claiming their 4-year-old daughter lost two fingers at a Smith’s Marketplace in Salt Lake City on Sept. 20, 2017.
Ramon Moreno, the father of Adalene Moreno or Addy as he calls her, spoke about the incident that changed his daughter’s life forever. He was on his way to work when he got the call.
“Some nurse was up there helping holding my daughter. They gave me my daughter. They gave me her fingers in a bucket, and I just rushed her to the ambulance," Moreno said.
Moreno said it was too late, two of Addy’s fingers had to be amputated. He said it’s been tough on his daughter, but she’s pushing forward.
“She has her moments where it affects her or it makes her feel sad or ugly sometimes but we just ensure her that she’s beautiful no matter what and she’s going to be ok," Moreno said.
Nathan S. Morris and Brian C. Webber are representing the Moreno family. While speaking to the media on Tuesday, they reiterated that both Smith’s, its parent company, Kroger, and Schindler Elevator were negligent. They claim the escalator had been out of compliance and the store had no warning signs.
“As of 2015, there was a concern. At the time of the incident, there was a concern. And now 6 months later, it still appears to be a concern with Smith’s not operating in compliance,” said Morris.
The attorneys say the main reason they filed the lawsuit was to obtain the video from the store to see for themselves what happened that day. They say the store has not responded to their requests.
They also want justice for Addie, who will have to undergo more surgeries in the future and physical therapy.
“Nobody should be in Ramon’s shoes to have to go into Smith’s and watch them pull up a plate at the bottom of an escalator and fish your daughter's amputated fingers out, put them in a bucket and hand them to you and go get an ambulance," said Webber.
Smith's responded to Fox 13's request for comment, saying it was, "unable to comment on active litigation."
