Mall abduction case settled for $2.6M

Toddler suffered brain injury in fall from hotel balcony – $10,900,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: May 20, 2013
Tags: Million-Dollar Settlements, Norfolk Circuit Court, Personal Injury, Premises Liability

The 2-year-old plaintiff was severely injured at a hotel when he fell through a second floor balcony railing landing head first on the pavement below. The balcony railing was missing a vertical bar, resulting in a 12-inch-wide opening. The plaintiff suffered a skull fracture and a right subdural hematoma. Emergency surgery was performed by Dr. [...]

Coast Guard officer suffered electric shock from boatlift – $525,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 15, 2013
Tags: Personal Injury, Premises Liability

The plaintiff was a 33-year-old Coast Guard security officer transferred to Virginia. Several weeks after moving into a rental property with several docks and electric boatlifts, he and his roommates were fishing off the property’s dock. While standing on a narrow dock, he spread his arms and touched adjacent metal boatlift parts, completing an electrical [...]

Woman hurt in grocery wins $5M

By Peter Vieth
Published: February 6, 2013
Tags: Gloucester County Circuit Court, Judge Walter J. Ford, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Personal Injury, Premises Liability, Supreme Court of Virginia News

A disabled Gloucester County woman has won a record-tying $5 million verdict for a fall in a supermarket. But her path to that victory wasn’t easy – she was shut out by the first jury she faced and needed a trip to the Supreme Court of Virginia to gain a second trial of her claim. [...]

Retiree injured at Smith Mountain Lake vacation home – $800,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: February 4, 2013
Tags: Personal Injury, Premises Liability

Plaintiff and his family rented a vacation home in Smith Mountain Lake during June 2011. The home is situated on a hill looking down on the lake. To access the lake and boat dock from the home, the vacationers must utilize a stone paver staircase. On the second day of vacation, the plaintiff was walking [...]

Infant suffers brain injury from mother’s slip & fall – $3,250,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: February 4, 2013
Tags: Fredericksburg Circuit Court, Million-Dollar Settlements, Personal Injury, Premises Liability

An infant suffered a traumatic brain injury after his mother slipped and fell on the defendant’s property. As a result of the mild to moderate TBI, the child suffers from seizures, mild hemiparesis, one side visual neglect and social developmental delays. Defendants hotly contested the plaintiff’s life care plan, which ranged from $2,200,000 to $9,400,000. [...]

Six-year-old girl drowned at Shenandoah beach park facility – $1,000,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 7, 2013
Tags: Million-Dollar Settlements, Premises Liability, Shenandoah County Circuit Court

The family of the plaintiff’s decedent traveled to Half Moon Beach Park, a commercial outdoor recreational facility in Shenandoah County. The decedent, age 6, drowned in the park’s swimming area, in a shallow roped-off section designated for non-swimmers and young children. The drowning occurred in the presence of lifeguards employed by the defendants. The property [...]

Woman sprains ankle in grocery store parking lot trip & fall – Defense verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: October 29, 2012
Tags: Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., Premises Liability, Richmond Circuit Court

Plaintiff alleged she tripped and fell over a curb stop in a Ukrop’s parking lot. She claimed that the curb stop was a hazard, namely that she could not see the curb stop because the lighting levels were low and a car was parked in the space. Plaintiff’s safety engineer intended to opine that wheel [...]

Jury Can Decide Staircase Fall Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 10, 2012
Tags: Judge Douglas E. Miller, Premises Liability, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A prospective buyer who entered a Fannie-Mae-owned home and was injured when he walked down basement stairs that were missing multiple steps at the bottom can try his claims against Fannie Mae for negligence and negligence per se, but the Norfolk U.S. District Magistrate Judge dismisses plaintiff’s claim for public nuisance. Defendant relies on two [...]

Women was victim of mall kidnapping, car wreck – $2,600,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: September 3, 2012
Tags: Million-Dollar Settlements, Premises Liability, Wrongful Death

The 61-year-old decedent was the plaintiff’s wife of 25 years. She was abducted from the parking garage of a regional mall at 1:20 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2008. Her abductors were two teenagers who had shoplifted a replica gun designed to look like a Walther 9mm. The abductors loitered in the parking structure for more [...]