A man who sustained a traumatic brain injury in a 25-foot fall from a ladder bought at a Home Depot store recovered $406,800. William Sohngen was using the Louisville extension ladder unattended while painting on the side of a two-story home. The base slid and he crashed to the ground because the rubber feet on the ladder's legs were worn down, he claimed.
The jury found that Home Depot was to blame because it sold the ladder and failed to mention that it had been in rental service for four years, which is against company policy. Sohngen also sued Louisville Ladder for defective design, but the jury found it wasn't negligent. Home Depot was found 60 percent liable and Sohngen was found 40 percent liable, which reduced the jury's $678,000 award.
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Personal Injury
- New York state man recovers $200K for fingers lost to lawn mower
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- Court Allows Claims For Emotional Distress After Alleged Breach Of Contract To Continue
- Wal-Mart Limits Subrogation Rights Against Workers
- Pennsylvania Worker recovers for fall from ladder bought at Home Depot
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- NYC to pay $2.75M for softball accident in school gym class
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Bradford County: Judge Beirne presiding
Pennsylvania Senate confirms Beirne as Bradford County judge
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NURSING HOMES AND MANDATORY ARBITRATION
From Philly.com:
Patients hoping to get into nursing homes increasingly are signing away their rights to sue over poor care.
That's a problem, say lawmakers who are pushing legislation to make such agreements unenforceable.
The nursing homes argue that arbitration arrangements to which many families agree actually lead to dispute resolutions that are fairer than court cases. But legislators, supported by consumer-advocacy groups and trial lawyers, say families should not be giving away their ability to hold the homes accountable for poor care.
A Senate committee will hear today from the family of William Kurth, who fractured his hip and leg and contracted numerous pressure ulcers during his final months of life in a Wisconsin nursing home. When his family attempted to sue for negligence, a judge dismissed the case because Kurth's wife had agreed, as part of her husband's admission, to have all complaints go through an arbitrator.
The Senate panel, which is investigating the growing use of binding arbitration by nursing homes, says more than 100 lawsuits have been filed in the last five years challenging such agreements.
Arbitrators take into account federal, state and county laws when resolving legal disputes. Often, the parties are free to negotiate some of the ground rules for their case. The process has the advantage of being faster and less expensive for both parties. It also is confidential.
Few families are even thinking about the possibility that they might want to go to court when they admit their loved ones to nursing homes.
Kurth's wife, Elaine, was under extreme duress and on medication when she signed the papers that allowed her husband, a stroke victim, to stay at the nursing home, the family's attorney said.
Family members who will appear before Congress say the World War II veteran died at age 84 from infections that occurred because excrement and urine were not cleansed from his bedsores for days at a time. David Kurth of Burlington, Wis., says arbitration has become a shield for large corporations to hide behind and decrease the quality of care.
"It is economically more profitable to let people like my father suffer than to provide proper care," Kurth said in written testimony prepared in advance. "And now that our family is trying to hold the nursing-home corporation accountable for its actions, Kindred Care is trying to bury our case by forcing us into a mandatory, secret, and binding-arbitration process that they chose."
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
Former pro football player gets $1.1M for fall in store
A former pro football player who claimed that he sustained severe back injuries when he fell at a grocery store was awarded $1.1 million. In 2004, Jerry Aldridge, then 48, slipped and fell at the Brookshire Brother's Grocery in Jacksonville . Aldridge, who underwent a lumbar fusion and a cervical fusion after two years of conservative treatment, claimed that he slid on grease that had leaked from a rotisserie chicken container. At trial, he was awaiting medical approval to return to work. Defense counsel argued that neither the store nor its employees had actual or subjective awareness of the alleged grease spill prior to the miscue. The defense also pointed to medical records showing that Aldridge had preexisting back and neck problems, including a herniated disc.
Aldridge v. Brookshire Brother's Grocery
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Family of resident who died from sepsis awarded $2M
A jury returned a $2 million verdict for the death of a 104-year-old nursing home resident caused by decubitis ulcers. Mary Adams died after eight weeks at Villa Valencia Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility in Laguna Hills. She was in the facility for physical therapy following hospitalization for a broken arm. While at Villa Villencia, she developed Stage IV decubitus ulcers on both heels. Her family sued the owner of the nursing home, claiming Adams was neglected there. They sought between $1 million and $5 million in damages. The jury's award included $1 million in punitive damages. According to defense counsel, the award will be reduced to $1.25 million per MICRA.
Adams v. Sunrise Senior Living Services Inc.
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Scalded tenant gets $2M from landlord
A Manhattan building owner and its managing agents agreed to pay a total of $2 million to a tenant who was scalded when her shower's hot-water knob broke in her hand. The injured woman, Ana Feliz, 83 at the time of the July 2006 incident, claimed that the building's managers were aware that the knob was loose, but that they neglected to perform the repair. As a result of the accident, Feliz sustained first- and second-degree burns of more than 10 percent of her body. The defendants contended that the knob had been replaced some 15 months prior to the incident and that Feliz had not reported any further problems. With a trial pending, the parties proceeded to mediation, where a settlement was struck.
Feliz v. Property Resources Corp
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Jury awards boy for hand degloving in crash
A jury awarded $807,479 to a teenager who sustained a degloving injury in a rollover crash. Michael Buonaiuto Jr., then 15, was a passenger in his sister's car when he was struck by an employee of Aqualogic Pools & Innovative Pool Plastering. The defense admitted liability, but argued that he has recovered from his injuries. Michael underwent several surgeries. He claimed that he still experiences numbness in his thumb, limited flexation of his wrist when his fingers are closed and limited motor skills. He's still able to play guitar and sports, but at a diminished capacity.
Buonaiuto v. Stroud
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