David Parkin found more than he bargained for during a recent trip to Wal-Mart. Parkin was rummaging through the Wal-Mart garden center in Live Oak, Florida when he found a live one — a live water moccasin snake. According to the Savannah Morning News, the snake clamped onto Parkin’s thumb. “It felt like somebody took liquid fire and put it in my veins,” the 37 year old resident of Jacksonville told the paper. Parkin said he feels lucky just to be alive today. Doctors had to cut open Parkin’s hand and forearm, all the way up to his elbow to reduce the swelling. They grafted skin from his thigh to cover up the wounds. Parkin’s lawyer said the meat salesman may never regain the use of his thumb. A Wal-Mart spokesman confirmed the incident happened, and said his company is investigating the March 23rd. incident. But he appeared to be suggesting that the company would not accept responsibility for their customer’s injury. “Snakes,” said Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams, “are kind of an act of God.” Parkin’s attorney says his client has not sued the company yet, but also points out that in his opinion, Wal-Mart is negligent, because its corporate offices provide snake repellenet to stores to prevent such incidents from happening, and in this case, repellent was not used.
Thumbs down for Wal-Mart’s aggressive customer service in this case. Their spokesman does not get in the press saying “we’re very concerned about Mr. Parkin’s health and regret that this rare accident would happen in our store, etc.” Instead, Wal-Mart tries to slither off the hook by saying snakes are “kind of an act of God.” Translation: We accept no liability for the injuries this guy sustained. And remember: At Wal-Mart, the first of their “10 Basic Principles” is: “The customer is always right.”
