The woman suffered from a concussion and a chronic condition known as “Complex Regional Pain Syndrome” that is characterized by swelling and intense pain in her arms, legs and face.
The case involved liability issues as the injured woman claimed the floor was wet as a result of recent mopping by defendant’s employees but not marked with any warnings. Defendant apparently denied everything, including that they mopped at the relevant times and suggested that perhaps the injured woman hadn’t fallen, claiming that her fall had been “unwitnessed.”
Multiple witnesses countered the defendant’s claims and the jury obviously concluded that defendant’s denials were not credible.
The defendant also contested the scope of the injuries, claiming that the injuries were mostly or entirely “psychological” and unrelated to the fall. A treating neurologist, by contrast, testified that the injured woman was completely disabled.
Plaintiff’s vocational expert estimated plaintiff’s lost earnings at between $622,000 and $1.1 million while total economic damages were estimated at $5.4 million.
According to insiders, the defendant had offered $250,000 to settle prior to trial and, on the day of jury selection, reached a high-low agreement of $2 million/$6 million. This alone suggests that the defense recognized that it had serious risk of exposure to liability and damages. Reportedly, during trial the defense increased its offer to $3.2 million and the plaintiff offered to accept $5.5 million.
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