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Man bitten by snake at Pembroke Pines Wal-Mart suing retailer for negligence

By Jon Burstein | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 15, 2009

Wal-Mart is full of signs highlighting low prices, but there should be another warning customers that they might be attacked by snakes on the premises, a bitten shopper says.

Hollywood resident Jay Richitelli filed suit against the mega retailer because a venomous pygmy rattlesnake bit him July 6 in the lawn and garden section of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Pembroke Pines. He is seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages in the Broward Circuit Court case. His attorneys said his medical bills could top $100,000.

Richitelli, 42, was the third Floridian within three years to fall victim to a pygmy rattler — a small, ill-tempered snake — slithering around a Wal-Mart garden center. Two men were attacked in separate incidents in 2006 at stores in Central Florida.

"Since it happened in the past, it was very foreseeable it could happen again," said Armando Paz, Richitelli's attorney.



Wal-Mart declined to discuss the attack because of the pending litigation.

"The safety of our customers is always the top priority," said Michelle Bradford, a spokeswoman at the chain's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.

Snake attacks at department stores' garden centers are rare, said Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Capt. Ernie Jillson, head of the agency's Venom Response Bureau. When they do happen, it's usually unclear whether the snake came in with plants or came onto the premises on its own, he said.

Pygmy rattlers, which don't grow longer than 2 feet, are one of six species of venomous snakes in Florida. There are no recorded incidents of people dying from their bite, but their venom can cause nerve damage and other medical ailments, Jillson said.

Richitelli, who works at his family's thrift store, said he was looking for plants for his father's home when the young rattler clamped onto his right hand.

"It felt like fire going through my arm," he said. "I looked and the thing was latched on."

Richitelli said he began swinging his arm trying to get the snake off, accidentally hitting a Wal-Mart employee with the rattler. When he finally shook off the snake, he stomped on it until it was dead, sat down and called 911, he said.

By the time the paramedics arrived, hallucinations had kicked in; the sky started moving, he recalled. He spent five days in the hospital, then returned two days later because of fluid in his lungs.

His lawsuit, filed Feb. 5, accuses Wal-Mart of negligence for failing to inspect for snakes in the garden section of the store on Southwest 184th Avenue. There also needs to be some warning given to shoppers, he said.

Richitelli said he still suffers from respiratory problems and his hand is scarred. But he's been back to the Wal-Mart several times to shop.

"They've got certain stuff where you can't beat their deals," he said.

Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@ SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4491

Man bitten by snake at Pembroke Pines Wal-Mart suing retailer for negligence -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com