Physical Injury – $700,000 Settlement

The Case of The Door-To-Nowhere

Our client was attending her granddaughter’s wedding at Limoneira Ranch in Ventura. During the reception, she was inside the “Visitor’s Center” to get warm. She decided to walk outside to watch her granddaughter’s first dance. She exited through floor-to-ceiling windows or French doors that were open. As she exited the room through the French doors, she encountered an immediate 5 foot drop.

Our client stepped out of the doors, and she found that there was no earth beneath her first step out the door. She fell onto the pavement below, and she fractured her right hip in the process. Our client underwent surgery to replace the hip. She had to do rehabilitation, and she continues to have pain from the hip replacement.

The defense, Limoneira Ranch and their captive caterer/event planner, claimed that our client was senile and should not have walked out a window. On behalf of our client, we argued that these so-called “windows” were in fact doors that led to nowhere. We argued that the condition was hazardous and that our client acted reasonably in walking through the open doors to leave the room.

The case settled shortly before trial for $700,000.