Lack of Trust Leads to Defense Verdict
Rissman attorneys Art Young, Meredith Stephens, and Kendall Griesse obtained a defense verdict in a slip-and-fall incident in Osceola County following a four-day trial.
The plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell due to water on the floor from a leaky air conditioner. The existence of water and a fall were not in dispute; however, there were no prior leaks with the subject air conditioner. Further, the air conditioners were inspected by housekeeping during every room turnover. Finally, the plaintiff was in the room for 8 hours before the fall occurred and had ample opportunity to report an issue if she had seen one.
The plaintiff claimed injuries to her spine, for which she underwent chiropractic care, epidural injections, and a cervical discectomy. Her treating surgeon opined that she would need another surgery.
During the trial, we argued that neither the plaintiff nor her treating surgeon made reliable witnesses. Critically, the plaintiff had been involved in two pre-incident vehicular accidents, two post-incident vehicular accidents, and a had a host of other issues that she failed to disclose during discovery.
In closing, the Plaintiff asked for a multi-million dollar verdict. After approximately three and a half hours of deliberation, the jury returned a defense verdict.
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