Brooklyn Jury Awards A 64 Year Old Woman $450,000 In Damages For A New York Slip And Fall Accident

A Brooklyn jury recently awarded a Plaintiff $450,000 in a premises liability action.

The Plaintiff, age 64 on the date of accident, was out for night with friends in March of 2015. As the Plaintiff was walking with her friends, her right foot was allegedly caught on the edge of an outdoor rug in front of the entrance of a New York City hotel located in the Theater District. The Plaintiff fell forward. As a result of her fall, the Plaintiff claims that she was bloodied and severely injured in the fall. The Plaintiff’s front teeth were pushed back into her throat and she sustained a fractured right wrist. At the time of the trial, Plaintiff testified that she still has stiffness and weakness in her right wrist. She also testified that she has difficulty grasping things.

As a result of her fall, the Plaintiff underwent extensive dental treatments with her dentist, an endodontist, and an oral surgeon for numerous procedures over the period of several months, which included a root canal, teeth extraction, bone grafts and titanium post implants.

Experts for both the Plaintiff and the Defendant did not dispute that the Plaintiff’s injuries were causally related to her accident. Plaintiff’s expert testified that her lisp was related to her March 2015 fall and that she would need to repeat the painful dental procedures. Plaintiff’s expert orthopedist testified that the Plaintiff sustained ulnar nerve damage and that she was likely to develop traumatic arthritis for which she will need to undergo a fusion surgery procedure on her right wrist.

A Brooklyn Jury awarded Plaintiff a damages verdict in the amount of $450,000. The Brooklyn jury awarded damages in the amount of $275,000 as compensation for past pain and suffering, and $175,000 for future pain and suffering over the course of five years. The damages award will be reduced proportionately in accordance with the prior liability verdict of 49 percent against the plaintiff and 51 percent against the defendant.