The scale of damages awarded by US courts never ceases to amaze, and one of the latest cases involves the haulage division of the retail giant Walmart. A jury in San Bernardino County has ordered Walmart to pay $34.7 million in damages to a dismissed truck driver, Jesus "Jesse" Fonseca. As reported on 27 November 2024 by John Kingston on FreightWaves, the driver took Walmart to court, accusing the company of defamation and discrimination and of terminating his employment after a workplace injury.
The award is split into $25 million in punitive damages and $9.7 million for past and future economic and non-economic losses. Fonseca, represented by attorney David deRubertis, accused Walmart of orchestrating a defamation campaign to force injured drivers back to work, despite their physical conditions. According to Fonseca's lawyer, Walmart's defamation of Jesse was part of a broader scheme to use false accusations to pressure injured drivers into returning to work.
The article explains that Fonseca's case began with an accident in June 2017, when he was rear-ended while driving a Walmart truck. Due to the injuries sustained, Fonseca was required to limit his work activities as advised by his doctor. These restrictions included limits on the weight he could lift and an inability to operate industrial vehicles. Fonseca then requested modified duties and even offered to be transferred to an office role, having done similar work in the past.
Walmart responded by accusing Fonseca of fraud, claiming that he had sustained his injuries while driving his personal vehicle, not an industrial one. In March 2018, Walmart terminated his employment for "serious misconduct and integrity violations" — a reason that made it difficult for Fonseca to find further employment, hence the defamation claim. Among other allegations in the case, there were claims regarding violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, which prohibits employers from dismissing or discriminating against an employee due to a disability. Walmart has described the verdict as "outrageous" and has announced its intention to pursue all available legal avenues to challenge the decision.
