Home Depot Injury: WK Beats Sedgwick Denial

On April 2, 2025, our Wilson County client was shopping at the Home Depot location on S. Hartmann Drive in Lebanon, TN, when a routine shopping trip took a dangerous turn. Due to a heavy commercial water hose reel obstructing the customer walkway, our client tripped and fell violently onto the ground, landing directly on her right shoulder. The impact caused an immediate, agonizing anterior right shoulder dislocation, leaving her in excruciating 10/10 pain.

Emergency Medical Services rushed our client to the TriStar Summit Medical Center ER, where physicians had to use heavy conscious sedation just to relocate her dislocated shoulder. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.  A high-resolution MRI soon revealed extensive, multi-structure trauma to her right shoulder complex that required immediate orthopedic surgery:

• A Fractured Humerus: A painful impaction fracture at the top of her arm bone.
• Massive Rotator Cuff Tears: Multiple complete, full-thickness muscle ruptures.
• A Shredded Biceps Tendon: Severe tearing so deep the surgeon was forced to completely sever the tendon anchor (a total biceps tenotomy).

To piece her shoulder back together, she underwent a complex arthroscopic double-row reconstruction using specialized surgical anchors. But the operating room was only half the battle.  To regain basic use of her arm, our client had to endure 19 grueling physical therapy sessions at clinical care facilities across Mount Juliet and Lebanon, TN. From June through late October, she fought through intense pain just to regain basic range of motion and baseline strength.

The Human Impact: Functional Limitations on Daily Life

This preventable retail accident completely upended our client’s life. Beyond her own physical suffering, she serves as the primary family caretaker for a relative battling advanced Lewy body dementia. Her severe orthopedic limitations drastically impacted her ability to provide that essential care.

Medical and rehabilitation records document the extensive toll the injury took on her independence:

• Loss of Caretaking Capabilities: Severe weakness prevented her from lifting or physically supporting her vulnerable relative.
• Severe Household Limitations: She was left entirely unable to drive, vacuum, clean her home, or reach into overhead cabinets.
• Basic Living Disruptions: For months, she lacked the physical endurance to safely lift pots while cooking or independently manage grocery shopping.

By the time her medical treatments concluded, her accumulated medical bills totaled a staggering $109,141.22.

The Corporate Roadblock: Sedgwick Denies the Claim

Despite clear evidence that a hazardous commercial display directly caused this catastrophic injury, Home Depot’s third-party administrator, Sedgwick Claims Management Services, issued a flat denial of liability.

Sedgwick attempted to minimize her injuries and deflect accountability, leaving our client  to face over $109k in medical specials alone. Even with health insurance, an injury victim in Tennessee has the right to claim full medical bills as damages!  Refusing to let a corporate giant dictate her recovery, she contacted the dedicated legal team at Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers.

Filing Suit in Wilson County Circuit Court

Attorney Anthony M. Kestner and our litigation team immediately stepped in to break through Sedgwick’s roadblock. We escalated the matter by filing a formal personal injury lawsuit (Case No. 26-CV-235) in the Circuit Court for Wilson County, Tennessee.  Our legal strategy centered on establishing strict accountability under Tennessee premises liability law: 

• Proving Negligence Per Se: We established that the dangerous positioning of the water hose reel constituted a clear breach of the store’s legal duty of care to its patrons.
• Irrefutable Economic Damages: We systematically compiled every medical line item from the ER, surgery center, and local physical therapy clinics to substantiate her $109,141.22 in financial damages.
• Pursuing Non-Economic Relief: Backed by Tennessee case law, we aggressively fought for compensation covering her physical pain, mental anguish, and profound loss of enjoyment of life.

The Outcome: A Major Victory for Our Client

Faced with an airtight lawsuit, meticulous medical evidence, and a local legal team fully prepared to take the case to a Wilson County jury, Home Depot’s defense collapsed.

Weir & Kestner successfully secured a substantial six-figure settlement for our client. This payout fully covered her extensive medical bills and provided the vital financial justice she was owed for her pain, suffering, and long-term recovery.

Insurance administrators like Sedgwick expect unrepresented victims to back down after an initial denial. Our job at Weir & Kestner is to ensure that everyday people have the aggressive representation required to hold corporate giants accountable.

Injured at a Retail Chain in Tennessee? Contact Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a dangerous property condition or slip and fall at a national retailer, do not let an insurance adjuster have the final say. A corporate denial is the beginning of the fight—not the end.

Contact the proven Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers today for a completely free case evaluation, and let us protect your rights.