TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A Florida lawsuit says a disabled man was severely beaten by a convenience store employee for trying to pay with a $20 bill that had a tear in it.
A lawsuit was filed Jan. 5 against 301 Petrol Inc., a Florida corporation, by plaintiff Micah Moser for battery, assault, and negligence in Hillsborough County Circuit Court.
According to the complaint, Moser alleges that he was violently assaulted and battered by an unknown employee of 301 Petrol while shopping at its convenience store on March 4, 2022. The incident led to multiple surgeries and the amputation of a finger for Moser, who is a disabled individual.
Moser says he tried to pay with a $20 bill that had a tear in it, but the cashier both refused to accept it or give it back to him. The cashier exited the checkout area and threw Moser to the ground, the suit says.
"During the altercation, while lying helpless on the ground within the store, Plaintiff informed his unknown 301 assailant that 'he was handicapped' and pleaded for the individual to 'stop striking him,'" the suit says.
"The 301 employee then stated, 'I will show you handicapped.'"
He claims to have incurred over $400,000 in medical bills as a direct result of the attack.
The lawsuit seeks damages from 301 Petrol Inc., alleging that it failed to provide adequate training to its employees and negligently exposed Moser to a foreseeable risk of harm or bodily assault and battery.
Moser's lawyers are David Knox of Knox Leib in Tampa and Anthony Rickman of The Rickman Law Firm in Tampa.