Our client was simply entering her home when she slipped and fell on the ramp leading to her apartment door. The ramp was constructed of plywood, which was partially covered in roofing shingles. Where there was exposed wood, paint was chipping off and it was covered in mold and mildew – this was not maintained, extremely slippery, and not constructed even close to code.
Our client’s fall caused an egregious injury – she suffered right ankle syndesmotic disruption and lateral malleolus fracture, which required open reduction and internal fixation of the lateral malleolus and repair of syndesmosis. In other words, this surgery required plates and screws, as well as a suture rope device running through a hole in her ankle due to gross disruption of her ligament.
Her Prior Attorney Wanted to Withdraw and Advised Our Client to Take the $15,000 Offer They Had Obtained
With slip and fall injuries, it can be challenging to prove negligence, and this usually means there had to be notice of a danger with failure to remedy the danger. Our client had asked for the ramp to be repaired prior to the fall, but they took this as an admission she should have known not to step on the slippery part.
The apartment complex felt that our client failed to use ordinary care and was the cause of her fall. They were not accepting liability but made a compromise offer of $15,000 in exchange for a release. Her prior attorney was not willing to invest in the case and instead said they would withdraw representation and allow her to collect the $15,000 that was on the table.
As soon as Kode Law Firm was retained, an engineer and human factors expert were hired to help us understand the construction code as it related to ramps and “way-finding” – a term used to describe the mental load, visual processing, and behaviors of a person navigating from one point to another.
Armed with this information, we renewed negotiations and settled the case for $150,000. Our client felt abandoned, and we were able to provide her with the advocacy and compensation she deserved.