Fall On Defective Steps Leads to $3,000,000 Settlement

MINEOLA, N.Y. - Feb. 17, 2022 - PRLog -- Gregory S. Gennarelli, LLC is pleased to announce that on the day of jury selection, we obtained a $3,000,000.00 settlement  for a 50 year old grip in the entertainment industry who fell on defective steps at a warehouse in Queens.

As a result of the fall, our client sustained a several herniated discs in his lumbar spine which required him to undergo two back surgeries including the removal of a portion of a herniated disc and subsequent fusion of two vertebrae.

The fall happened in a portion of the warehouse that was being rented by our client's employer, and being used as carpentry shop for the production of television series that was being filmed nearby.  As our client was descending the steps, his foot was caused to slip on a broken step. We claimed that the defendant was responsible for the incident.

A landowner has a duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition considering the circumstances, including the likelihood of injury to others, the seriousness of the injury, and the burden of avoiding the risk. The landowner becomes liable if they caused the condition, or if they knew, or should have known, of the condition and failed to fix it.

The defendant argued that they did not know about the condition of the steps, and that our client and his co-workers should not have been using the steps as they had been closed off, and not used, for years. We were able to prove not only that a defendant employee provided the workers with keys and access to the steps, but that condition of the steps had been that way for some time. In pre-trial motions, the Court rejected the defendant's arguments and found the defendant negligent and responsible for the incident. Since fault had been determined, the case was proceeding to trial on the issue of damages.

The defendant and its experts claimed that our client's injuries were degenerative; pre-existing; the result of longstanding back injuries from prior accidents; not related to the fall; and had fully resolved. They also would have argued that our client would suffer no economic loss in the future since he had returned to work full time. We were prepared to prove that the injuries sustained were serious and substantially impacted our clients quality of life and his ability to work in his pre-accident capacity through normal retirement age.

Proper preparation and a willingness to go to trial resulted in settlement in court for $3,000,000, twenty (20x) times the defendant's prior offer.

If you or a loved one sustained injuries in an accident,  feel free to contact Gregory S. Gennarelli, LLC at 347-921-1950 to discuss how we may be able to help.

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