ORLANDO - An Orange County woman sued the Winn-Dixie grocery store on US-441 in Apopka after she allegedly suffered a broken hip by being too close to a fight in the store, according to documents filed on Feb. 19 in the Orange County Circuit Court.
Plaintiff Ivanka Gueorguiva was shopping at the Winn-Dixie in December 2019 when a mentally ill man who frequently loitered in front of the store was having a mental health episode that included the delusion of a Winn-Dixie employee kicking him, the suit says. Unbeknownst to the plaintiff, the mentally ill man was planning revenge on the Winn-Dixie employee that his mental illness caused him to believe had assaulted him, the suit says.
While Gueorguiva was paying for her groceries at the self-checkout, the man ran into the store and targeted an employee who was standing near her, the lawsuit said. The man tackled the employee to the ground and began punching her in the face, the suit says.
A good Samaritan standing behind Gueorguiva ran forward to come to the employee's aid, but knocked Gueorguiva over in the process; the plaintiff then allegedly fell to the ground and broke her hip.
Gueorguiva sued Winn-Dixie for negligence in failure to keep its customers safe and address a longtime loiterer of the premises. She is suing for damages and litigation costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Dellecker, Wilson, King, McKenna, Ruffier and SOS LLP of Orlando.