Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Man bitten by rattler while shopping at Wal-Mart

Associated Press

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- Police say a man was bitten by a rattlesnake while shopping for shoes in a Wal-Mart store in Texas.

Douglas Hatchett of Brownwood was examining shoes on a rack when a rattlesnake concealed behind a shoebox bit him yesterday. The snake fell to the floor, where Hatchett stomped it to death.

Police, fire and emergency medical crews were called to the scene.

The 31-year-old shopper and the dead snake were hustled to Brownwood Regional Medical Center. There, the snake was confirmed as a rattler, and Hatchett was treated and released.

Wal-Mart officials say the matter's being investigated and they have no comment.

Brownwood is about 120 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

I thank snakes get enuf bad press as it is without a freak acidint like this.

sounds like he found the winning lottery ticket in walmart's shoe dept.!!!

Steve

Heard today that investigators doubt that the snake was killed in the store. Might be going for that lottery thru the back door.

~~Greg~~

Greg: Methinks you have tumbled onto the 'fix', remember this one from the spring? Can you say Copycat?
Cheers
Wes

SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE (Florida) 09 April 03 Man bitten by snake at Wal-Mart in Live Oak goes home
(AP): A man returned home Wednesday after spending two weeks in a Gainesville hospital recovering from a snake bite sustained while shopping in a lawn and garden section of a Wal-Mart.
David Parkin, 37, was looking at a plant March 23 at the Wal-Mart in Live Oak when he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He dropped the plant and saw a water moccasin with its fangs sunk into his thumb.
"It started burning the second he got my thumb," Parkin told The Florida Times-Union. "It was like nothing I ever felt before. I'm loaded with tattoos, so I can handle pain."
A friend of Parkin's stomped the snake to death and called 911, said Parkin's attorney, Steve Pajcic of Jacksonville.
Parkin was taken to a local hospital and later airlifted to Gainesville for emergency treatment. Doctors cut open his hand and forearm to relieve swelling, Pajcic said.
Doctors then grafted skin from his thigh to seal up the wounds. He may never regain use of his thumb, Pajcic said.
Parkin said he hasn't filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, but he believes the store was negligent because it failed to use snake repellent, which the attorney says is provided by corporate offices.
Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams acknowledged the incident and said the retailer is investigating.
"Snakes are kind of an act of God," he said.
Since 1987, there have been at least five incidents in which customers were bitten by snakes while shopping in the garden sections of retail stores. Four were in Wal-Marts, in Fort Walton Beach, North Fort Myers, Sunrise and Tallahassee. One was in a Kmart in Davie.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030409&Category=APN&ArtNo=304091252&Ref=AR