After two days of deliberation, a jury returned a favorable verdict in a premises liability case defended by Fullerton Beck Partner Eileen Becker, Managing Partner of the Connecticut office, before the Waterbury Superior Court. The plaintiff, a 59-year-old Florida resident who was visiting her daughter at her condominium in Waterbury, CT, slipped on ice on the sidewalk outside her daughter’s unit, causing her to break her right ankle, requiring surgery with a plate and screws. She sued our clients, the condominium association and the property management company, claiming they were negligent in the care and maintenance of the property by allowing the ice to develop. She claimed our clients failed to salt or sand the sidewalk properly.
Throughout the litigation, Eileen maintained they had no notice that any ice was present prior to the plaintiff’s fall, and as such, we argued our clients had no liability. The plaintiff refused to negotiate and instead filed an Offer of Compromise to settle the case for $500,000. The plaintiff declined to move significantly off that number, making a pre-trial settlement unlikely.
At trial, the plaintiff requested that the jury award her $84,000 in medical expenses plus several hundred thousand dollars in pain and suffering. After two days of deliberation, the jury rendered a verdict of $84,000 in medical expenses and only $63,000 in pain and suffering.