BROWARD COUNTY, FL — A Broward County woman has filed a negligence lawsuit against Walmart and one of its store managers, alleging she was hurt when she tripped on a piece of rebar or metal protruding from a damaged concrete wheel stop in the parking lot of a Sunrise store, according to a complaint filed in Broward County Circuit Court.
The complaint was filed on July 21, 2026, in the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida. Court records list the case as Karla Aucapena Salvatierra v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP; WSE Management, LLC; and Francis Padilla, Case No. CACE-26-011794, assigned to Division 25. The plaintiff is represented by Dan Cytryn of the Law Offices Cytryn & Velazquez, P.A., in Coral Springs.
According to the complaint, Salvatierra was walking through the exterior parking lot at a Walmart store located at 12555 W. Sunrise Boulevard in Sunrise on or about July 29, 2025. The lawsuit says the incident happened during nighttime hours, when patrons relied on the artificial lighting at the property.
The complaint alleges that while she was walking in the parking lot, Salvatierra tripped on a piece of rebar or other metal that was protruding from a broken or deteriorating concrete wheel stop. The filing states she did not anticipate, and had no reason to anticipate, that metal would be sticking out of the wheel stop. As a result of the fall, the complaint says she suffered multiple personal injuries.
The lawsuit brings two counts of negligence. The first count is against Wal-Mart Stores East, LP and WSE Management, LLC, which the complaint identifies as the entities that owned, managed, operated, maintained, or controlled the parking lot and were doing business as Walmart. The complaint alleges those companies owed a duty to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition and to keep the parking lot free of trip-and-fall hazards, and that they knew or should have known the wheel stop was a hazard.
The second count is against Francis Padilla, whom the complaint identifies as the general manager of the store. The lawsuit alleges Padilla had authority over the inspection, maintenance, safety, supervision, and operation of the parking lot, and that he was acting within the course and scope of his employment. The complaint claims he breached duties that included making sure employees regularly inspected the lot and its wheel stops, and not allowing broken or deteriorating wheel stops or protruding metal to remain.
The complaint says the fall left Salvatierra with bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life, and medical expenses, among other losses. It states the losses are either permanent or not permanent, and that she is entitled to past and future out-of-pocket losses.
The lawsuit describes itself as an action for damages in excess of $50,000, not counting attorney's fees, interest, and costs. The plaintiff demands judgment for damages against the defendants, plus costs, and requests a trial by jury on all matters triable as of right.
These are allegations contained in a civil complaint. They have not been proven in court, and no defendant has been found liable. The filing reviewed by Boca Post does not include a response from any defendant.
Boca Post reviewed the complaint, Karla Aucapena Salvatierra v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP; WSE Management, LLC; and Francis Padilla, Case No. CACE-26-011794, filed July 21, 2026, in the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida. As of the reviewed filing, the case is newly filed, a jury trial has been demanded, and no defense response is included in the record reviewed by Boca Post.
Boca Post's Broward County Lawsuits coverage documents recent civil complaints and court filings from communities throughout the county, from Hollywood and Hallandale Beach north through Coconut Creek and Parkland.
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