White and Williams Get Results

DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.

Woman fell down steps at hotel

Our client was at the Lancaster Host Resort Hotel in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for a trade show. She was walking down a carpeted stairway when her heel caught on a plastic "wear strip" on the top stair. She fell down the stairway and injured her low back.

 
Our client was a young professional woman who had a prior history of extensive treatment for low back pain. After the accident at the hotel, she eventually lost her job due to her inability to work a consistent full-time schedule. She was, however, able to return to work on a part-time basis.

 
The defendant claimed that the wear strips were safe and that the plaintiff was negligent for causing her own accident. They also claimed that her back condition was no different after the accident than prior to the accident. We were able to prove that the wear strips on this particular stairway had come loose individually over a long period of time. Rather than reattach all the strips safely when the first one came loose, the defendant essentially waited for each one to come loose and then would reattach them individually. When the strips are loose, they create a severe tripping hazard.

 
We settled this case for $900,000 prior to trial.

Awarded: $900,000 settlement