A celebrity attorney, Harvard Law Professor, and television personality didn’t want to sue TD Garden, the home of his beloved Boston Celtics, but with the lingering pain of a nasty slip and fall in the men’s room of TD Garden three years earlier, he decided he had no choice.
The attorney, known for his past work defending a series of high profile clients such as Mike Tyson, Claus Von Bulow, and OJ Simpson, took a fall in a men’s room during a Celtics playoff game when he slipped on the wet floor. He blamed the hazardous condition on TD Garden’s failure to keep the men’s room supplied with paper towels. The plaintiff claimed that patrons resorted to shaking their hands dry onto the floor after washing their hands creating a slippery condition which caused his fall.
Court documents read that he “violently slipped, causing him to fall upward and then hard upon the tile floor and severely twisting his right knee and leg, landing on his back.” He was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament.
Fall leads to lasting injuries
His medical bills totaled $5,984.22, including $1,150 for an ambulance ride from the Garden to Mass General Hospital. He also seeks compensation for “economic and intangible damages.”
He knows that to some, a slip and fall injury like his may seem inconsequential, but he was on crutches for months after the fall and is still in physical therapy years later to attempt to counter the limited mobility and other lingering effects of the injury. He still may need to have surgery eventually.
Statistics show frequency of slip & fall incidents
Nearly 3,000 employees a year miss work due to a slip, trip or fall injury. In fact, the Maine workforce has lost more than 25,000 days of productivity since 2011. In the 18 month period from January 2012 to June 2013 alone, there were more than 1,035 slips and falls on ice and snow in the Maine workplace.
Slips and trips and falls are also costly: medical expenses for ice and snow slips top over $1.5 million a year.
Grounds for filing a trip and fall claim
Slip and fall injuries can be caused by snow, ice and dangerous spots that were not properly cleared by a property owner.
Property owners or operators may be held liable for injuries caused by:
- Sidewalks that are cracked or uneven and should have been repaired
- Highly polished or wet floors that cause patrons to slip and fall
- Loose flooring or carpeting or unnecessary debris
- Poor lighting in a dark hallway or stairway
Poorly maintained parking lots or access paths with cracks or potholes are dangerous and should be repaired immediately. If you’re injured in a fall, your Maine slip and fall accident lawyer can help you assess whether the circumstances of your injury warrant a claim.
A Maine slip and fall accident lawyer can assess liability
In the state of Maine, the amount of your award, if warranted, is determined by the court and the physical evidence your legal team exhibits. Based on the evidence, the court will determine if you are less than 50% responsible for your slip or trip and fall injury. The damages owed to you will then be assessed by your liability relative to that of the property owner where the mishap occurred, and so on. Acceptable evidence can be witness testimony, photographs, and medical records, including X-rays, MRI’s, and hospital reports.
Your lawyer will also determine if the owner held title to the property at the time of the accident and thus had a clear responsibility to maintain the premises in a safe condition.
Damages in a Maine trip and fall injury lawsuit
Hardy, Wolf & Downing has an enviable record in successfully litigating premises liability cases. You may be able to collect current and future medical expenses, damages for lost income as well as future earnings, the cost of household assistance to help you with home upkeep while you are incapacitated, as well as damages for permanent disability and any emotional distress you have suffered. The state gives you six years from the time of your accident to file a Maine trip and fall injury lawsuit.
If we take on your case, you owe us absolutely nothing unless you recover compensation. Call us today to schedule a free consultation at 1-800-INJURED. We serve clients in Auburn, Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland.