Jury Awards $1.8M To Plaintiff In Slip And Fall Lawsuit

A Georgia man is $1.8 million richer after he secured a verdict in a trip and fall lawsuit filed against a gas station. The incident occurred in 2015. The plaintiff permanently injured one of her pinky fingers in the fall.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was walking in a safe and reasonable manner when she tripped and fell on uneven concrete sidewalk tiles on property owned and operated by the defendant. This resulted in a permanent injury to her pinky finger and a fracture to her hand.

In the complaint, the plaintiff accused the defendant of breaching their duty of reasonable care by failing to inspect the premises for dangerous conditions, warn patrons of a dangerous condition they knew or should have known existed on the premises, and repair the dangerous condition when they knew or should have known it existed. In addition to asserting premises liability claims, the plaintiff accused the defendant gas station of negligent training and supervision of its employees for failing to mark off the dangerous condition or otherwise fixing it.

According to the lawsuit, when the plaintiff tripped over the uneven concrete, she tried to break her fall with her right hand but was unable to do so. In the process, she broke the joint where her pinky finger is attached to the wrist. The fracture required surgery to repair. The plaintiff required temporary metal pins to hold the fractured joint in place. As a result of her injuries and subsequent surgeries, the plaintiff missed three months’ worth of work. Her pinky finger never fully healed and is now permanently bent. She received a 4% impairment rating as a result of the fracture.

The defense 

According to the defendant, the uneven sidewalk did not constitute a dangerous or hazardous condition. Further, the defendant claimed it did not have “superior knowledge” of any alleged dangerous or hazardous sidewalk condition. The defendant further contended that the plaintiff was primarily responsible for her own injury for failing to navigate the uneven sidewalk successfully. In other words, the dangerous condition didn’t exist, but if it did, we didn’t have knowledge of it, and if it did, the plaintiff was primarily responsible for causing her own injuries.

The jury didn’t buy it and awarded the plaintiff $1.8 million to compensate her for her medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced quality of life.

Premises liability lawsuits in Georgia 

This is an example of a premises liability lawsuit. In a premises liability lawsuit, the plaintiff claims that the defendant presided over a dangerous condition that caused them to slip, trip, or fall, resulting in substantial injury. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant either knew about the dangerous condition or should have known about the dangerous condition had they exercised ordinary care. In this case, the plaintiff was successful in proving that the defendant had foreknowledge of the dangerous condition or should have known about it had they inspected the premises.

Talk to a Georgia Slip and Fall Accident Attorney Today 

Gillette Law represents the interests of plaintiffs in slip, trip, and fall injury lawsuits. Call our Jacksonville personal injury lawyers today to schedule a consultation, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

law.com/dailyreportonline/2024/05/31/jury-awards-1-8m-not-rejected-60k-for-broken-pinky-finger/