Brooklyn Jury Awards Grandmother $16 Million in Subway Trip and Fall Case

A Brooklyn jury has awarded a 69-year-old woman $16 million in a subway trip-and-fall case, which left her with a traumatic brain injury. According to a report in the New York Daily News, the incident occurred in December 2008 when the woman was on her way to meet her husband after finishing a shift at a factory job. It was dark outside when she stepped onto the landing of the Graham Avenue L subway station. She was not able to see a gouge on the platform leading to the stairs.
She tripped and fell, hitting her hip and head as she tumbled down a flight of stairs. She suffered hip injuries and bleeding in the brain. After several days of hospitalization, the woman, a Dominican immigrant, began to suffer seizures and lost her ability to talk. She was unable to return to work and her neurological problems left her in a wheelchair unable to even care for herself. Doctors say her injury is degenerative, which means, it will only get worse.

Older Adults and Falls
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one out of three older adults (those aged 65 or older), falls each year. Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries. About 20 to 30 percent of people who fall suffer injuries such as lacerations, hip fractures or head trauma. Falls are also the most common cause of traumatic brain injury among older adults, the CDC report states. Most fractures of the spine, hip, forearm, leg, ankle and pelvis among older adults are caused by falls.
Falls in Public Places
There are a number of reasons why falls tend to occur on public sidewalks or locations such as the subway. Some of the most common causes include uneven pavement, defective pavement such as cracks or gouges, broken stairs and poor lighting. In such cases, the agency in charge of maintaining the sidewalk or area can be held liable for the injuries and damages caused. Injured victims can seek compensation to cover damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one suffered injuries because of a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident, the experienced New York personal injury lawyers with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Our law firm recovered $1,700,000 for a woman who slipped and fell and received no hospital or medical treatment for one month after the accident, and we recovered $2,100,000 for an 80-year-old woman with a spinal cord injury and $5,600,000 for a man with a spinal cord injury.
Please call our offices TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496) to discuss your slip-and-fall case or trip-and-fall accident case. WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: New York Daily News