TAP TO CALL
A New Jersey woman tripped and fell on exposed steel rebar while walking into her place of employment. Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. partner Marc C. Saperstein represented the woman and showed that the owner that managed the company and its engineering and maintenance companies were negligent in failing to properly maintain the parking lot in a safe condition. Our client suffered injuries to her back, leg, and neck and was subsequently paid $2.915 million dollars.
The woman parked her car on the second floor of the garage in a commercial building where she worked. After she got out of her car, she fell unexpectedly, landing on the nearby curb. Upon inspection, she realized that she tripped over exposed rebar—a set of thin, hard wires protruding from a broken, concrete wheel stop. Our client then continued into the building, where she filed an incident.
Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. partner Marc C. Saperstein—along with other members of the firm’s team of New Jersey and New York premises liability lawyers—retained a consulting engineer and accident reconstruction expert who concluded that the employer did not follow the relevant standards concerning pedestrian safety. Further, the expert concluded that the concrete wheel stop should have been painted with a warning sign or hazard line painting. The exposed rebar created an even more dangerous condition. They failed to inspect and maintain their car stops.
As a result of the fall, our client suffered injuries to her back, knees, and neck. Her back suffered disc bulges at L2-L3 and L4-L5; disc herniations at L2-L3 and L3-L4; disc protrusion at L5-S1; and multilevel facet arthropathy.
As a result of these injuries, she had several operations and now takes daily medication to control her pain. To treat the herniated discs in her spine, the woman’s back surgeries included laminectomies to the L2-L3 and L4-L5 disc bulges, posterolateral fusion surgery to her lumbar spine at L2-L3, and transforaminal decompression of the left lateral and foraminal disc herniation of the L3-L4. Despite these corrective procedures, the fall affected the woman’s ability to commute to work and continue her job.
The full identities of the parties to this premises liability settlement are subject to a partial qualified confidentiality agreement. Do you or someone you know have similar injuries or circumstances to this one? Our dedicated legal team of over 25 attorneys is here to help. Call now for a free case evaluation or reach out online and we’ll call you back.
Medical Glossary:
Anxiety: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome
Depression: a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act
Disc Bulge: a condition in which the inner portion of a spinal disc remains contained in the outer portion of a spinal disc
Disc Herniation: a portion of the disc, which acts as a shock absorber for the spinal bones, is pushed into the spinal canal
Disc Protrusion: a type of disc herniation
Facet Arthropathy: a degenerative condition that affects the spine
Lumbar Spine: the lower back; consists of five bones
Laminectomies: a surgical operation to remove the back of one or more vertebrae, usually to give access to the spinal cord or to relieve pressure on nerves
Posterolateral fusion: a surgical procedure used to treat problems with spinal instability
Transforaminal Decompression: most commonly used to refer to a surgical procedure to alleviate pain in the spine
