A 60-year-old woman slipped and fell on loose grapes at a Lancaster supermarket, leading to serious injuries and $302,000 in medical expenses. Attorneys Khakshooy and Agarwal proved the supermarket's negligence in maintaining safe conditions, securing a $700,000 settlement for the plaintiff.
Plaintiff, a 60 year old female, was a customer inside Defendant’s super market located in Lancaster, CA. While walking up to her shopping cart after picking up some bananas, Plaintiff slipped and fell due to loose grapes on the ground in one of the aisles of the market. Plaintiff slipped and fell hard onto the ground, landing on the left side of her body.
California property owners have an ordinary duty of care to ensure that their property is kept in a reasonably safe condition. If there are any hazards that could potentially lead to a slip-and-fall accident, they are obligated to warn visitors and guests of the dangers. A special relationship exists between landlords and their “invitees” or those individuals with special permission from the landlord to enter the premises. Issacs v. Huntington Hosp. (1985) 38 C3d 112, 123, 211. (A classic example of an invitee is a business patron on the premises of a business such as Plaintiff’s presence at Defendant’s super market.)
As a result of her fall, Plaintiff suffered injuries to her lower back, left wrist, left hip, left leg, and left knee. Plaintiff’s injuries were significant enough to incur $302,000 in medical expenses. Plaintiff required a lumbar spine surgery, to where she now has ongoing sporadic lumbar spine pain, for which she will require intermittent chiropractic and physical therapy treatment in the future.
Defendant disputed liability and Plaintiff’s claims for injuries and damages. Defendant also disputed the reasonableness and necessity of Plaintiff’s medical treatment. However, through lengthy discovery and depositions, in which sweep charts of the super market were disclosed to Messrs. Khakshooy and Agarwal, it was determined that one of the employees of the super market did not complete his sweep of the aisles as was scheduled. Furthermore, through the testimony of expert doctors, it was determined that Plaintiff’s injuries and treatment were reasonable and necessary, considering the severity of her fall. Messrs. Khakshooy and Agarwal were able to recover $700,000 for Plaintiff.
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