Scott C. Murray and Jason J. Guari represented a woman in her 50s, Mrs. K., who slipped and fell when she encountered coffee spilled on the floor near a trash receptacle at the mall. The coffee was virtually impossible to detect against the similar, colored, marble floor as seen below:
Mr. Murray and Mr. Guari argued that since the coffee was cold and the trash receptacle overflowing, the mall had plenty of time before the fall to clean up the spill had it monitored the area more closely to keep the floor clear of potential slipping hazards. The firm immediately requested any surveillance video that may have captured the fall which was later produced during litigation; so, there was no question regarding the accident facts.
During the fall, Mrs. K landed hard on her knees and aggravated a long standing, pre-existing condition in both of her knees. Before the fall, she had always been able to manage her knee pain through injections, medications, and activity restriction. She had no intention of ever undergoing a knee replacement surgery while in her 50s, hoping that she would not have to have them revised in her lifetime; however, after the fall, she was unable to walk more than a few feet without experiencing excruciating pain, and she knew she had seriously aggravated her knees.
Ms. K followed up with her knee surgeon who recommended bilateral knee replacement surgery. After much contemplation and discussions with her family, Ms. K decided to move forward with the bilateral knee replacements on May 27, 2015. Total knee replacement surgery and especially bilateral total knee replacement surgery is extraordinarily painful, and the recuperation is long and tedious. Below are photographs depicting the significant nature of this surgery:
Ms. K was hospitalized for three days and then transferred via ambulance to an inpatient rehabilitation center where she was admitted for another month. After the rehab, she basically had no legs for a year. She was initially in a wheelchair and graduated to a walker and was on a cane for another year. She basically lost two years of her life.
Initially, the Defendant denied the claim, but after filing the lawsuit and litigating the matter for nearly two years, Scott Murray and Jason Guari settled the claim before trial for a confidential amount.
