Pre-Trial Settlement for active, elderly client who fell in parking lot pothole at super market
Posted by: Doug in Disability, Negligence Cases, Premises liability, Slip and Fall Accidents
On the evening of December 4, 2006, after working overtime, our client pulled into the dimly lit parking lot of the Defendant’s grocery store in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. A pothole (at least a foot-and-a-half wide) was between the space in which she parked and the handicap parking space next to it, near the sidewalk at front of the store. Hidden in the darkness, it caught her foot and threw her into the car parked next to her. Herndon - Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau took pictures and measurements with the claimant and co-counsel Tom Curcio of Alexandria shortly after this accident occurred. [Shown here: ABRAMS LANDAU’s Lauren Holtzman & Beatriz Vargas with a gift basket from the happy client.]
Early investigation is critical to building the liability case. There were no signs or warnings to alert customers of this latent hazard. Most importantly, the pothole was located in an area where it was extremely foreseeable that a patron, exiting her car after parking in a designated parking space, was likely to step into it and be caused to fall. Clearly, allowing the pothole to exist and failing to warn of it, breached the Defendant grocery store’s duty to use ordinary care to have it premises in a reasonably safe condition consistent with the invitation extended to her and to warn her of any unsafe condition of which it was aware or of which it should have been aware.
The injured plaintiff began hopping toward the store entrance to get help. However, she was in such excruciating pain that she determined that she could not get that far, and that she needed to get to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Since the injury involves her left foot, she bravely suffered the pain and drove herself to the Emergency Room of INOVA Hospital. X-rays showed that she suffered a non-weight bearing Jones fracture of her left foot. This diagnosis was confirmed by the Plaintiff’s Orthopedic specialist.
The plaintiff is a very young 71-year-old legal secretary at a major Washington, D.C law firm, with an active life style, and regularly works overtime. She also spends her weekends doing projects with her daughter (sodding a back yard, painting rooms, moving furniture, etc.). She was extremely depressed and dismayed to find herself unable to work, or in fact leave her house or enjoy the Christmas season, for nearly a month because of the injuries caused by the Defendant’s negligence in allowing its parking asphalt to fall into significant disrepair. She had to rely on her daughter to make an hour’s round trip to her home twice a week to do her grocery shopping, laundry and any other tasks that she could not do herself because of her injury. Even when she was cleared to go back to work, she could not put pressure on her left foot and therefore was extremely embarrassed and demoralized as she dragged herself down her home porch steps (and crawled up them when she got home) in full view of all her neighbors. She also had to take the freight elevator from the parking garage to her office because it was more convenient, and she stayed at her desk all day, dependent on her associates for simple things (such as getting water, tea, supplies).
The plaintiff missed 20 days of work immediately after her fall and a 60-hour overtime opportunity. In total, she has had to forego over 75 hours of overtime, as well as time off for doctor’s appointments as a result of her injuries. In sum, she has lost some $9,000 in earnings and has incurred $2,083.22 in medical bills to date. The law firm of Abrams Landau, Ltd. was able to get the claim resolved prior to the Alexandria Circuit Court jury trial.
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