A Best Buy employee says her life was forever altered after a shelving display came loose and a piece of metal came crashing down on her head, striking her as she assisted a customer.
Nashville-based TikToker Madison (@mmadisson) has posted about her road to recovery, including the medical care along with before and after footage of her accident.
Recently, she uploaded video footage of the event, which has since gone viral on TikTok, accruing over 6.4 million views on the platform.
@mmadiisson This dissected my arteries which caused me three strokes. My brain swelled so much they removed a quarter of my skull. I lost a quarter of my right field vision. I now have anomia, so I say the wrong words. I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast anymore. An 8 hour day is now too much for me. I’m now on permanent medications. The PTSD won’t go away. There’s so much more I could add… #fyp #foryoupage #stroke #anomia #ptsd #injury #badday ♬ original sound – madison
Madison uploads what appears to be security camera footage of the Best Buy she worked at. In the video, she stands behind a checkout counter when a metal retail display begins moving off of the wall and crashes right into her—it all happens in a matter of seconds. The metal bar crashes into her head and Madison steps away from the wreckage, her hands behind her head.
A gentleman in a black shirt who was turning the corner past the display immediately turns around upon hearing the commotion. He lifts up the display with the assistance of another person and then works on fastening the display to the shelves. Madison returns to the checkout counter and appears to resume helping out the customer.
Although the accident occurred in just a few seconds, Madison writes that its effects have permanently altered the course of her life. She writes in the caption that she can no longer remember what she ate for breakfast and that a “quarter of her right field of vision” has been lost. The blow from the metal bar “dissected [her] arteries] which caused [her] three strokes” and that her “brain swelled so much” that doctors “removed a quarter of [her] skull.”
Madison adds that her on-the-job injuries resulted in anomia, also known as anomia aphasia, which “is a language disorder that leads to trouble naming objects when speaking and writing,” according to Healthline. The outlet adds, “Brain damage caused by stroke, traumatic injury, or tumors can lead to anomic aphasia.”
Madison has also posted about her recovery in previous TikTok videos. In one that was posted on May 2, 2022, she provides a montage of her treatments, which shows surgical scars on the back of her head, along with the physical therapy she needed to undergo in order to learn to walk again.
@mmadiisson Today marks my 1 year anniversary since the day I was taken to the hospital for my 3 strokes!! Woohoo! #fyp #stroke ♬ A Moment Apart – ODESZA
In a caption for the clip, Madison writes, “Today marks my 1 year anniversary since the day I was taken to the hospital for my 3 strokes!! Woohoo!”
Several viewers who saw the security camera footage of her injury urged Madison to sue Best Buy.
“Oh honey file that lawsuit and don’t settle,” one user wrote. “That is life-changing and you will never be the same.”
Another couldn’t believe that the employees working with Madison seemed more concerned with putting the display back up than tending to her.
“I’m blown away by the two that totally disregarded your well being and tended only to the fallen display! WTH!” they wrote.
There was another TikTok user who expressed that they hoped Madison sued the store as well and relayed their own experience with getting injured on the job with Best Buy.
“I hope you’re suing,” they urged. “I got electrocuted while working at BB, got permanent nerve damage in my right arm,got an attorney and won.”
Gacovino Lake writes that in 2014 a Best Buy Employee received $1.2 million as part of a settlement after they fell in a forklift accident.
According to Zippia, an average of 2.8 out of 100 Americans are injured on the job each year.
The Daily Dot reached out to Best Buy via email and Madison via TikTok comment.
