$200,000 Settlement Announcement for a Slip and Fall Client with Broken Bones in the Lumbar Spine!

We are proud to announce a $200,000 settlement for a slip and fall injury claim! This settlement was for a personal injury client who suffered broken bones and a lumbar spine injury after a slip and fall.

Our client received low-ball settlement offers from the very start. After a lengthy fight with a well-known law firm, our office was able to get our client fair compensation without the need to try the case.

The Facts of the Case

Upon being retained, we found out that our client had a disputed liability case with a hotel proprietor regarding a dangerous condition on their property.

Our client told us that he had gone to a hotel where he checked in at the front desk. After checking in, he exited the hotel’s side door on his return to get more bags out of his parked car. Our client opened the door, and as he took one step towards the staircase and attempted to grab the handrail, he slipped on black ice and fell down the steps.

The defendant’s lawyers and insurance representatives took their usual position and denied all liability.  They argued that if our client didn’t see the ice, why should they have had any duty to clear it?

We reminded the defense that they have an obligation under California law to make the property safe and warn their guests of any present hazards. We pushed them to produce any record at all of their inspections of the staircase.  The defense initially refused to disclose if they could prove they complied with their duties.  After we uncovered that they had not met their obligations, their case began to cave.

The Injuries Sustained in the Slip and Fall

The next step in the defense’s gameplan was to downplay the severity of our client’s injuries.

They took the initial position that since the client’s bone breaks at the injured area were not open fractures, they weren’t that big of a deal. They then said that any damage to the spinal column wasn’t life-threatening and that their doctor’s medical advice was to get physical therapy.

The defense narrative was incompatible with the reality of our client’s life.  Our client had fractured two transverse process bones in his lumbar spine!

The transverse processes are the two bones that extend off of each vertebra in the spine, one on each side.  These bones are the location where some muscles and ligaments of the back attach to the spine. One of those muscles is the psoas muscle, which controls the forward-bending motion of the upper body and thighs. During a fall, car accident, or other forceful injuries, the contraction can be significant enough to pull a chip off of the bone.

Unfortunately, for our client, he landed directly on this bone in his spine. The slip and fall caused his bone to break entirely off. The result was not just a broken bone, but also cluneal nerve damage. The nerve damage resulted in constant “radiculopathy,” which he experienced as tingling and burning sensations in the lower back.

Despite the defense medical doctors’ recommendation that physical therapy would remedy our client’s injuries, we made sure that he saw the best medical professionals available. Our doctors properly diagnosed the problems and recommended that our client undergo a radial ablation procedure. Which ultimately provided him the relief he was seeking.

Transverse Spine Fracture

Graphic of Spine Anatomy including the Transverse Process

It was important to us that we conveyed the pain and suffering our client endured in this incident and the two years following it.  The loss of function after the bone breaks was staggering. The fact that our client had difficulty participating at work and in family events for the next two years was even worse.

Our Results!

Slip and Fall injuries are notoriously challenging for clients to resolve on their own. The reality is that if an injured party doesn’t retain a slip and fall attorney who is willing to file a lawsuit and try the case, the client will probably never see justice for their claim.

The reason that insurance adjusters undervalue and low-ball these cases is because of their difficulty. These “premises liability” claims are often looked at skeptically by California jury pools. The typical bias amongst jurors is that the fall would have never happened to them. The plaintiff must be a clumsy person!

Defense lawyers and insurance claims adjusters are well aware of this bias and look to exploit it at trial. Moreover, to the extent they can, they will use those preconceptions as leverage to settle a case at less than fair value to the injured Plaintiff.

In this case, the Defendants sought to exploit all those beliefs. The defense initially offered the Plaintiff a four-figure settlement that was much less than his lost wages. Once our firm got involved, the number went up to five-figures. At mediation, our client received his first six-figure offer.

Our office was determined to get our client a fair offer for his injuries. With our client’s blessing, we decided to walk away from the mediation. Once we showed the Defendants that we had built a strong case, and were willing to take the matter to trial, we finally got a fair settlement offer. In the end, our client got more than forty (40x) times the initial offer made to him!

If You Have Suffered Injuries as a result of a Slip and Fall, Contact a Local Personal Injury Lawyer Right Away!

If you have been injured as a result of a slip and fall, or trip and fall, call a personal injury attorney right away. Make sure that you gather the contact information from as many witnesses as you can find.  You should take note of all the cameras that you think may have recorded the fall.

No one article can cover everything that people should know after a slip or trip and fall.  Additionally, slip and fall law presents unique legal challenges.

We recommend that you contact a slip and fall lawyer before speaking to an insurance adjuster, or filing a claim.  Filing an insurance claim for a slip and fall or trip and fall without consulting an attorney, could result in the adjuster attempting to use the claim form against you.

There are many local Long Beach, Seal Beach, and Huntington Beach slip or trip and fall lawyers. Lawyers who regularly practice in this field of law should be able to help, and will likely offer you a free consultation.

Don’t let an insurance company lowball your demand for reimbursement of medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering. Ensure that you receive full justice for your insurance claims!

The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this post, or website, should be taken as legal advice for any individual or case situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.  

Contact us If you have lost a loved one or have pain and suffering from a personal injury.  For more information, visit our wrongful death page and slip and fall accidents page. For a free consultation, please reach out to our attorneys to arrange a time to discuss your case.  

All you have to do is hit the big blue button labeled Contact Us at the top of this page!

$175,000 Settlement Announcement for a Slip and Fall Client who broke her leg!

We are proud to announce a $175,000 settlement for a slip and fall injury claim! This settlement was for a personal injury client who broke her tibia after slipping on a wet floor at a popular mall.

The mall proprietor disputed liability right up until the day they settled the case. Despite every possible excuse asserted by the mall proprietor’s attorneys, our office continued to fight until our client got justice!

Slip and Fall Leg Injury

Leg fractures can occur after all sorts of slip and falls.

The Facts of the Case

This case involved a client who had gone to a popular mall on a rainy day for her lunch break.  Our client was surprised when she arrived at the mall and noticed that despite the intense rain, the property owners had not put up any wet floor signs. As our client entered the mall, she also noticed that there were no floor mats for people to dry their feet.

She then went to the restaurant where she intended to have lunch. While she waited she began window shopping.

Our client was walking across the bright white tile floors when suddenly her right foot slid forward. Her left ankle collapsed underneath her.  She lied on the floor in a state of shock at what had just happened.  Then she realized that her right hand and pants were wet.

Mall staff raced to the scene to take pictures of our client’s shoes, and create an incident report that was favorable to them.  The property owner’s and their staff tried everything to make it seem like there was nothing wrong with the floor.

The Injuries Sustained from the Slip and Fall

Our client not only had to fight the defense that the mall floors were safe, but they also tried to deny she broke a bone in her leg!

Paramedics arrived on the scene to take her to the hospital. Once our client got to the hospital she was told that she had a broken leg. Specifically, the type of fracture she suffered was a tibial pilon fracture.

Doctors told our client that they regularly see that fractures can occur in this type of slip and fall case.  They then told her that the break required surgery.

Following surgery, she spent the next four months rehabbing her leg in physical therapy.  With physical therapy, she was able to achieve maximum physical recovery.

Settlement!

Throughout the insurance claims process and lawsuit, the defense law firms kept saying the same thing.  “There was no water on the floor we had just cleaned it!”

Our office spent eighteen months gathering the evidence needed to prove our client’s claims.

We subpoenaed video of the fall and photos of the scene.  We acquired records showing that the mall had dozens of similar falls in the two years prior.  We deposed mall employees who stated they violated their own policies by not having floor mats at the mall entrances.

After nearly a year and a half, we were able to disprove their claim that they had just cleaned the floor where our client had fallen!

The result?  A $175,000 settlement that fairly compensated our client.

If You Have Been Injured after a Slip and Fall, Contact a Local Slip and Fall Lawyer Right Away!

If you have suffered injuries as a result of a slip and fall, call a personal injury lawyer right away. Make sure that you gather the contact information from as many witnesses as you can find.  You should take note of all the cameras that you think may have recorded the fall.

We recommend that you contact a slip and fall lawyer before speaking to an insurance adjuster, or filing a claim.  Filing an insurance claim for a slip and fall or trip and fall without consulting an attorney, could result in the adjuster attempting to use the claim form against you.

No one article can cover everything that people should know after a slip and fall.  Additionally, slip and fall law presents unique legal challenges.

There are many local Huntington Beach slip and fall lawyers, Seal Beach slip and fall lawyers, and Long Beach slip and fall lawyers that can help. Contact a lawyer right away to protect your personal injury or wrongful death statute of limitations.

Don’t let an insurance company lowball your demand or insurance claims.  Let us help you fight for reimbursement of your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Ensure that you receive full justice for your insurance claims!

The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this post, or website, should be taken as legal advice for any individual or case situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.  

Contact us If you have lost a loved one or have pain and suffering from a personal injury.  For more information, visit our slip and fall accidents page. For a free consultation, please reach out to our attorneys to arrange a time to discuss your case.  All you have to do is hit the big blue button labeled Contact Us at the top of this page!