No Settlement Reached
My mediation this morning did not resolve with a settlement. I’m excited about it. Let me tell you why.
Background of the Trip and Fall Case
I represent a blind woman. She has been blind her entire life and for the past forty years she has lived at the same house in Mockingbird Valley. Her house has a walkway down to her mailbox. For forty years she has been walking down the walkway to get her mail with no problems.
The Contractor’s Negligence
A few years ago she hired the contractor she usually hires to do work on her house for repairs. This contractor knows she is blind and he hires a sub-contractor for some of the work. You know where this is going. The sub-contractor leaves scaffolding on the walkway. He also knows my client is blind. My client walks out to get her mail and trips on the scaffolding. She breaks her hip and elbow in the process.
This is the actual walkway. Mailbox is at the end at the bottom. It’s a straight shot from the front door.
Going to the Hospital
My client then goes to the hospital and is told unless you are having a heart attack it is going to be five hour wait. She goes home and tries to see if things get better. They do not. She goes back to the doctor and gets follow up treatment.
Damages From Loss of Independence
At mediation I was submitting to the mediator and defense they need to account for the fact my client is now scared to walk about. Part of her freedom and independence have been taken. And for a blind person that is important. I don’t believe the other side gave credit to this position and thus the case did not resolve. Would I have loved to resolve this case for a fair sum of money for my client? Yes. But sometimes an insurance company makes it really easy to say no to a small sum of money. I prefer that to them making it really difficult to say no to less than I want to take. It makes the risk evaluation simple. Put a small sum of money on the table and now we are in for a fight.
Trial on Slip and Fall in Louisville, Kentucky
I’ll try the case and a jury in Jefferson County, Kentucky can tell us how much a broken hip, broken elbow, and the taking of independence is worth. The offer put on the table today was low. There must be other lawyers taking these low offers because the insurance company thought I’d somehow bite. That isn’t going to happen. I’m lucky that my client isn’t in a financial bind on account of her slip and fall (a lot of people put out of work can be). On Monday I will ask the judge for a trial date which will probably be about a half of a year out. I will update this blog post when the time comes 🙂
Advertising Material for trip and fall lawyer Brian Dettman and www.louisville-injury-lawyer.com
