Tiana McBurnie sues Home Depot for personal injury in Texas federal court

Tiana McBurnie filed a personal-injury complaint in federal court saying improperly secured merchandise fell from a store shelf onto her head and caused injury, and she has named Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. and The Home Depot, Inc. as defendants. The case, captioned McBurnie v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., appears on docket records for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas with the case number listed in public metadata as 4:26-cv-01787, also formatted in some captures as 4:2026-cv-01787.

Docket metadata shows the complaint was filed March 4, 2026, and is recorded as a four-page document with a $405 filing fee, receipt number ATXSDC-35248264. A Request for Issuance of Summons with an attached summons is also listed on the same docket snapshot, and the docket entries carry timestamps of March 4, 2026 with a reported last update at 6:21 PM CST.

The only factual allegation preserved in the captured summary reads: "Personal injury: Suit alleges that improperly secured merchandise fell from a store shelf onto a customer's head, resulting in injury." The metadata classifies the matter under Nature of Suit 360, Torts - Personal Injury - Other, and lists the statutory cause as 28:1391 Personal Injury. Plaintiff counsel is recorded as Patrick J. O'Hara of Jacobs Ohara McMullen, P.C.

The public docket metadata contains unusual labeling that appears to conflict with ordinary party designations: one entry prints the complaint line as "4 pgs COMPLAINT against Tiana McBurnie" even though McBurnie is consistently listed elsewhere as plaintiff, and the summons request is printed as filed "as to Tiana McBurnie." Those inconsistencies in the captured docket text indicate the need to review the actual complaint and summons PDFs on the court docket to confirm party roles and read the full allegations.

As of the March 4 filing, the docket does not show a judge assignment, a damages amount, the specific store location within Texas, or any answer or response from Home Depot. A separate, unrelated Home Depot personal-injury case captured in the same aggregated search results, Laura Crain v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., was filed in Orange County, California on September 8, 2021, underscoring that the retailer has faced similar suits in state and federal courts. The McBurnie case remains at the initial filing stage; service, responses, and further docket activity will determine the next procedural steps.