Residential Care Facility Injury Case – An 82-year-old residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) resident was dropped by an employee that had not been properly trained during a routine transfer from the toilet to her wheelchair. As a result, she incurred a fractured femur, and was forced to undergo surgery to repair it. Thereafter, the woman was transferred to a rehabilitation facility to receive physical therapy with hopes of making a full recovery. While at the rehabilitation facility, the patient developed pressure ulcers, which lead to infections, substantial weight loss, and fevers. She was eventually forced to undergo several surgeries to heal the progressively worsening pressure ulcers. The patient brought a lawsuit against the care providers, and the firm’s California residential care facility lawyers were able to recover $275,000.00 on her behalf during the early stages of litigation.
Slip & Fall Incident/Hip Surgery – A 54-year-old woman went to a hair-school in North County San Diego intending to get a color and cut. During her beauty appointment, she suffered severe injury after falling upon a wet area on the flooring. Specifically, after receiving a rinse by a student hairstylist, the client slipped on a clear gel-like substance that had been left on the floor while returning to her chair. In the fall incident, she broke her hip, and had to undergo reparative surgery. During the litigation, defense counsel for the school argued that the client fell when she mis-stepped trying to get back into her chair, and not as a result of any slippery or wet substance that has been left on the floor. Notwithstanding the contentious dispute as to how the fall incident actually occurred, Berman & Riedel, LLP, was able to settle the case for the client at mediation with the defense agreeing to pay the client $400,000.00 in cash settlement.
Slip & Fall Incident/Back Surgery – A 41-year-old woman went to San Diego, California, day spa, where she suffered injuries to her back after falling upon a wet common area flooring. After using the facility’s whirlpool, the woman walked into an adjacent restroom which was wet, and the tile flooring was uncovered. During the litigation, the facility’s staff admitted that they had failed to place mats on the tile floor which it normally used to prevent falls on the slick surface, nor had they mopped, cleaned or recently checked the bathroom flooring. In falling, the woman suffered severe back injuries, which required fusion surgery. Although she made a very good recovery, the injuries she sustained severely impacted her life and ability to continue as a nursing student. Through mediation conducted during litigation, Berman & Riedel, LLP, settled the case with the defendant spa paying $550,000.00.
Personal Injury/Slip-and-Fall – Berman & Riedel, LLP, represented a 64-year-old woman who suffered a fall in the parking lot of a San Diego Mall after she tripped over a displaced concrete parking stop and suffered injury. It was believed that the parking stop had been displaced for a while, as a post-fall inspection conducted throughout the entire parking lot revealed numerous other detached and displaced parking stops. As a result of the subject fall incident, the client sustained multiple injuries, including severe bruising to her right arm and a severely fractured right wrist. The client had to undergo reparative surgery. Although the client was retired from employment, the injuries she sustained in the fall incident affected her ability to take care of her developmentally disabled brother. Despite incurring only $29,400.00 in total medical expenses, Berman & Riedel, LLP, was able to settle the case for the client at mediation for $247,500.00.
Worksite Injury/Wrongful Death – A 40-year-old husband and father of three was electrocuted while working in a welding shop. His family retained the firm, which brought suit against against the electrical contractors who had performed extensive electrical work in the welding shop building shortly before the electrocution death. After two years of hard fought litigation where defendants argued that decedent died through his own misactions, the firm was able to recover $825,000.00 for the family.
Premises Liability/Trip and Fall – A 35-year-old woman sustained a neurological disorder causing persistent pain and numbness in her back, shoulders, and arms after she tripped over a dangerous, unmarked storm drain in a community college parking lot. Although the school contested liability throughout the litigation, it ultimately paid $593,750.00 to settle the case one month before trial.
Work Site Injury – A retired 72-year-old man sustained a spiral fracture to his leg after a heavy piece of equipment fell from a forklift, pinning him underneath. At the time of the incident, he was in the process of helping a friend move equipment and other machinery out of his warehouse into a storage bin. During litigation, the firm argued that the operator of the forklift, who worked for an independent company, bore full responsibility for failing to properly secure the load to the forklift. After extensive pre-trial discovery, the firm was able to achieve settlement on behalf of its client in the amount of $125,000.00.
Work Site Injury – A 21-year-old day laborer sustained a crushing injury to several fingers of his dominant hand after it became caught between the chute of a cement truck and a wall. The firm brought suit claiming that the operator of the cement truck unlocked the heavy chute without notice and without having been given the proper signal. The firm was able to obtain settlement for the plaintiff in the amount of $420,000.00.
Premises Liability/Trip and Fall – A 33-year-old woman working as a temporary paralegal for a La Jolla law firm was injured when she slipped on a pile of discarded pistachio nut shells in the stairwell, which she had entered to travel between floors of the law firm. Plaintiff fell down the entire flight of stairs, suffering severe injuries which required surgery on her shoulder, knee and wrists, as well as extensive physical therapy. Despite testimony from a maintenance company employee that the building’s stairwells were inspected several times per day, several employees who worked in the building testified that the pistachio shells were allowed to remain in the stairwell for at least a week prior to the fall. The defendant building owner and maintenance companies paid plaintiff $410,000.00.
Disclaimer: Case results as reported above were derived based upon facts and circumstances specific to each separately reported case and publication of such case results is for informational purposes only and by no means is intended to constitute any representation or guarantee of a similar result for your prospective case.
