Posted on 07/07/2008 10:49:08 PM PDT by Coffee200am
MIAMI, US - A POISONOUS rattlesnake hidden among leafy plants in the garden section of US retail giant Walmart sprung out and bit a man who was shopping there, a company spokeswoman said on Monday.
The man was hospitalised after the 30-centimeter pygmy rattlesnake bit him in the right hand while he was perusing the plants at the store in Pembroke Pines, Florida, about 50 kilometers north of Miami.
'This is an isolated incident and we're taking precautions to make sure that it doesn't happen again,' Walmart spokeswoman Ms Ashley Hardie said.
'To ensure the well-being of our customers, we immediately closed the garden centre to enable animal control to do a thorough search of the area. The garden centre was re-opened once we were convinced it was safe to do so.'
The Miami Herald newspaper reported that the man received intravenous anti-venom treatment at Miramar Hospital and was expected to make a full recovery.
The pygmy rattlesnake's poisonous bite could be fatal for an elderly person or small child, medics said. -- AFP
Probably will be a lawsuit.
But IMO Wal Mart should only be liable for actual medical expenses.
There is NO way such a freak occurrence can be prevented or anticipated.
Sh*t happens.
At least, all's well that ends well. Hopefully the cytotoxic venom did not mess too much of his hand functionality, and the pygmy is not as venomous as some of its other crotalid cousins. Could have been worse ....couple of years ago a Chicago firefighter was killed when he was struck by an African Gabon viper that someone had kept as a pet (if i recall correctly, the firefighter had gotten inside the house for some work-related reason, and the snake was free some how). Died the most gruesome death imaginable (trust me, getting bit by a large African viper, e.g. the Puff adder, Gabon or the Rhinocerous) is NOT the best way to go. The sad thing is they couldn't even get anti-venin in time.
Again, watch where you place your hand. A second of caution can be quite valuable ....and this is the case even when we are not talking about snakes. A second to look around when pulling up your driveway, crossing the street, getting inside the bank will probably not make a difference, but when it DOES it will make one HECK of a difference.
And I thought the only thing that bit you at Walmart these days was the greatly reduced service. What happened to employees that led you to an item in the store when you asked where it was? No longer.
Why can’t I be that lucky? Real headline should be: “Lucky B*st*rd Wins Lottery!
The snake traveled all the way from China?
Shouldn’t the rattler been in the baby section?
hart attack on a golf course.?.................
I think it is a scam myself. Probably had the snake in his pocket and let the snake to bite him to collect on a premeditated law suit.
Rattlesnakes are not Walmart shoppers and is a highly suspect domicile for one being placed there by a lawsuit scamming customer.
Just The Facts,
NSNR
Stepped with bare feet out my back door last evening at dusk to move a shovel; heard the whrrrr. Could tell it was not right at my feet so stepped back in and got my boots and a flashlight. Disposed of the 24 inch prairie rattler about ten feet from my back door. Have the “trophy” to remind me this AM.
Yes my heart rate was way up for a while...and as I had had the door open for an hour or so now I’m looking around corners in the house.
Wal-mart is losing initiative. I’d charge $9.95 per bite.
Other places I wouldn’t want to get bit:
The Gap
The Banana Republic
The Gum
Wimmen don’t have WalMarts. They have Gaps.
A few weeks ago my widowed aunt called me to get rid of a big rattler crossing her yard -- because her frail 90-year-old sister was "fixin' to go get a hoe and kill it"...
And, Friday morning, while surveying control points for an archaeological dig, I was "jumped" by a big rattler (body larger than my fist -- with 13 rattles). The HK P7 made quick work of that one...
I brought it home to show to our granddaughters, (what to avoid) and one of our guests said, "Now I see why you go armed -- even out in the woods where there probably aren't any two-legged 'snakes'..."
We saw one crossing the road in front of our apartment building from the creek last week. That was unusual. We see possums and raccoons come out of there but never snakes. This the middle of Dallas.
As for me, when I encounter one "up close and personal", I reflexively levitate and emulate a Star Trek "Transporter" client -- while drawing my sidearm in mid-air...
I've never heard it called that before!
A couple years ago our receptionists brother was golfing with a friend. The friend found and picked up a small rattlesnake which he proceeded to hand, with far to much “business end” loose, to the brother. He got bitten on the thumb. Approximately 30 bags of antivenom (at about $1,000 a pop) and a week plus at the hospital later he managed to pull through.
He had a hideous reaction, for about 3 days it was up in the air as to whether or not he’d live.
While I wouldn’t necessarily just kill them out of hand, it seems most people think that the consequences of messing with them is equivalent to a bad bee sting and it’s NOT, it’s far more of a life or death situation than most realize...
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