P. M. BRIEFING : Buyer Shot, K mart Partially Liable
<i> From Times wire service</i> s
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
A court found K mart partially responsible for injuries suffered by a customer who shot himself in the toe while examining a rifle he wanted to buy for his 6-year-old son as a first-grade graduation gift.
Palm Beach Circuit Judge Edward Garrison ruled that K mart was negligent in the June, 1987, accident because a clerk handed Richard Rubin, 29, the gun without checking to see that it was loaded. The judge awarded Rubin $10,419 on Thursday. He had sued for $200,000.
The jury originally awarded Rubin $16,000, but Garrison found he was 35% negligent, reducing the corporation’s liability to 65%.
