Law Partners Jason Guari and Scott Perry, had the privilege of representing a retired couple who had the misfortune of encountering a dangerous condition when walking through the crosswalk of a parking lot. Mr. D was walking in front of his wife, when Mrs. D’s foot caught a depressed portion of the walkway that had broken due to a failure to maintain – causing her to fall hard upon her face and outstretched arms. Below is are two photographs of the condition.
This traumatic fall resulted in numerous injuries, including inducing a fractured nose, lacerations to the face and nose, a right shoulder tear, a left knee tear, and two broken teeth.
At first the insurance company for the landowner invited a demand on behalf of our elderly client, yet after receiving the demand chose to make no offer resulting in a lawsuit being filed. Through discovery it was discovered that there was no history of proper inspections of the property and that the video that should have captured the fall was mysteriously absent. Despite the clear-cut evidence of a building code violation based upon the height differential across the crosswalk (which is how visitors reached the parking area through a portion of the lot designated for car traffic), the Defense attempted to blame Mrs. D for her own fall – claiming a history of prior falls. When that did not work, the Defense attempted to claim everything was pre-existing; the only problem was the Defense’s hired medical examiner had already admitted that this was a traumatic fall, and that Mrs. D was continuing to have issues stemming from the fall.
When faced with its defenses and arguments going out the window, the insurance company for the landowner finally changed its position to compensate Mrs. D for her injuries, and Mr. D for having to watch Mrs. D fall and for his losses due to her injuries. The total amount of the settlement was $250,000. The team at Murray Guari refuses to let the insurance industry bully our clients.
