Physical Injury – $450,000 Settlement

Re-flooring Contractor Fails to Place Warnings

Dr. Frank, a cardiothoracic surgeon, was doing rounds one day at a Hospital in Los Angeles. While walking to a patient’s room, Dr. Frank turned the corner and encountered wet cement. His foot went down into the cement, and he slipped and fell down hard onto the ground. The Hospital had hired a contractor to re-floor part of the hallway on the 7th floor of the Hospital, and yet left the hallway open to doctors, patients, and other visitors.

Dr. Frank was helped down to radiology. X-rays revealed a comminuted and displaced fracture of his fibula (the outer bone of the lower leg). Dr. Frank’s lower leg was immobilized and casted. He required a period of non-weightbearing on the leg. He then went through extensive rehabilitation to get back his strength and mobility. During that period of time, Dr. Frank missed patients and lost a significant amount of income.

We represented Dr. Frank against the Hospital and the contractor hired by the Hospital to redo the flooring in the Hospital. During depositions of the employees of the contractor and the Hospital, we elicited testimony to demonstrate that the employees left the construction site without placing any warnings, tape or cones to protect people walking through the hallway. We also found that the contractor’s employees had violated the Hospital’s own policies and procedures for construction in the Hospital.

We retained experts in the fields of orthopedic surgery, construction, vocational rehabilitation, and economics. Following expert discovery, the defense paid $450,000 to settle the case with Dr. Frank.