GMR Partner Joe Petka recently obtained a defense verdict for a local Health Care Network in a Philadelphia jury trial. The case involved a 59-year-old married female who fell down the steps of a building owned by Mr. Petka’s client. The plaintiff did not realize she was approaching a staircase and walked off the top. At trial, the plaintiff argued that there should have been some warning since the stairs were positioned almost immediately upon entering the building. She also claimed that there was insufficient lighting.
The plaintiff was diagnosed with a fracture of the left patella, cervical spine stenosis, and lumbar radiculopathy. She underwent a cervical discectomy six weeks after the accident and then a thoracic decompression and fusion surgery several months later. The plaintiff had been left unable to work following the second spine surgery. She also incurred $355,000 in medical bills for the two surgeries and subsequent hospitalizations. At the time of trial, the plaintiff’s demand was $2,000,000.
Joe defended the case on liability. He argued that the plaintiff had a duty to pay attention to where she was walking. Moreover, she likely would not have seen a warning sign if she did not realize that she was encountering stairs. Furthermore, he argued that the photographs of the staircase, which were taken impromptu by the plaintiff’s husband, showed adequate lighting.
The jury of 12 Philadelphians agreed with Joe and entered a defense verdict for the Health Care Network.
