Widow claims her husband died of emotional stress after being 'forced to clean a Walgreens store bathroom after leaving a mess'

Maria Elizarraras filed a lawsuit against healthcare store Walgreens in Orlando claiming staff held Fernando Elizarraras captive until he had finished cleaning the toilet. Photo / Supplied

A woman claims her 69-year-old husband died of emotional stress after Walgreens staff forced him to stay and clean the store's bathroom after he used it.

Maria Elizarraras has filed a lawsuit against healthcare store Walgreens in Orlando, Florida claiming staff held Fernando Elizarraras captive until he had finished cleaning on October 15, 2012.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Monday, claims the humiliation of the incident caused emotional distress that was so severe it killed Mrs Elizarraras' husband, Daily Mail reported.

Court documents, seen by Dailymail.com, state that Mr Elizarraras, who was a long-time customer with an ailment, went into the store but was stopped by staff after leaving the bathroom.

Mrs Elizarraras claims staff allegedly told him: "You left a mess, (it's) all over the bathroom."

The lawsuit says Mr Elizarraras was made to clean the bathroom for 20 minutes before being allowed to leave.

It caused him to be "humiliated, disgraced and injured in his feelings, emotionally and mentally," the lawsuit claims.

Documents allege the incident "resulted in the death of Fernando".

The lawsuit does not detail how Mr Elizarraras died, or how long after the alleged incident took place.

Mrs Elizarraras is suing the company for damages that exceed $15,000, according to court documents.

Florida legal expert Belvin Perry told WFTV that he had never seen a lawsuit like the one filed by Mrs Elizarraras.

He said it may be a stretch to prove the alleged false imprisonment led to the death of Mr Elizarraras.

"We need to know how cleaning a bathroom led to a death," Perry said. "It's just an allegation with no specificity," he told the programme.

"The longer the gap between the incident and the death, the more difficult it is to connect the two."

Walgreens could not comment because of ongoing litigation, according to WFTV.