Walmart Not Helping Little Girl Attacked by Bat Inside Store

Five-year-old Zoe Zachrison and her mom were shopping in the frozen food section at a Minnesota Walmart when suddenly a bat swooped down and bit Zoe on the leg, traumatizing her forever and requiring her to undergo painful rabies shots.

Zoe's mom, Holly Townley, describes the attack and its aftermath:

"The bat flew down the pizza aisle, flew back at us, flew down and landed on her, attacking her and bit her leg," said Holly.

Her left leg still has a mark from the bat bite. On her right leg, is a mark from the painful treatment that followed.

"She had a series of three shots for rabies," said Holly.

The shots have given Zoe terrible fevers and achy joints, and she's had to go to the ER three times. Townley would like Walmart to cover her daughter's medical expenses, which seems reasonable given that parents usually don't expect their kids to be attacked by rabid bats while they're shopping. But the dying company has refused to pay up. You are surprised!

A Walmart spokeswoman reminds us all about the company's claims process, adding that the company "hired a pest management company, but have never had a problem with bats at that store." So Townley could file a claim and see what happens. If the company rejects her claim, she can always take Walmart to court—she suggests she might. Much will depend on whether store employees or management knew beforehand that bats sometimes lurked amidst their frozen lima beans and Tombstone pizzas. For now, it's not clear that the company was acting negligently.

The bat couldn't be reached for comment.