Jury Awards $756,794 After Taco Bell Employee Spotted Puddle 34 Seconds Before Customer's Fall

On June 9, 2013, Deandre Gilkey, then 38 years old, stopped into a Taco Bell location in Grand Prairie, Texas, to pick up a to-go order. After collecting his food and topping off his drink, he turned toward the exit. Walking past the registers, his feet went out from under him on a large puddle of clear liquid. He hit the floor hard, striking his head.

Gilkey sustained a 9- to 10-millimeter broad-based disc protrusion at L5-S1, along with soft-tissue injuries to his neck, hip, right wrist, and right elbow, a concussion, and persistent headaches. Within weeks of the fall he underwent epidural steroid injections, and his condition eventually required back surgery.

The case turned on store surveillance footage. The video showed a Taco Bell employee noticing the puddle on the floor and pointing to it exactly 34 seconds before Gilkey slipped. Taco Bell's own written policy required that any employee who spots a wet area must immediately stand beside it and warn customers while a second employee retrieves a mop and a wet-floor sign. That protocol was not followed.

At trial, Jeff Benton presented testimony from a regional manager and four store employees, including the store manager, all of whom stated they were unaware the policy even existed. The gap between the company's written safety standard and its on-the-ground training gave the jury a clear picture of institutional neglect rather than an isolated misstep.

The jury found Taco Bell of America LLC solely at fault and awarded Gilkey $756,794 in damages covering medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and physical impairment. With prejudgment interest of $71,241.71 and taxable costs of $4,933.23 added by the court, the total judgment entered was $832,968.94. No appeal-related reduction has been identified in publicly available records.