Store’s heavy merchandise display fell on 7-year-old — $9M settlement
Type of action: Premises liability Injuries alleged: Skull fractures, traumatic brain injury Name of judge or mediator: Judge Thomas Shadrick (Ret.) Special damages: Medical bills of $200,552.03 Verdict or settlement: Settlement Amount: $9,000,000 Attorneys for plaintiff: James McCauley, Edward Scher, Ryan Walker and Joel McClellan, Richmond Description of case: The case arises out of an […[...]
Runner injured arm, wrist after tripping on uneven sidewalk — $450,000 settlement
Type of action: Premises liability Injuries alleged: Right radial head fracture, triangular fibrocartilage tear/Essex-Lopresti injury to right wrist Name of judge or mediator: Judge Walter W. Stout III (Ret.) Date resolved: 3/2/2023 Special damages: Medical bills of $107,000; wage loss of $7,000 Verdict or settlement: Settlement Amount: $450,000 Attorney for plaintiff: Kelly B. Martin, Richmond [&[...]
Golfer stepped in sinkhole, fractured ankle — $442,000 verdict
Type of action: Premises liability Injuries alleged: Right ankle fracture Name of case: Miller v. Ford’s Colony Country Club, LLC Court: Williamsburg/James City County Circuit Court Case no.: CL21000909-00 Tried before: Jury Name of judge or mediator: Judge Holly B. Smith Date resolved: 1/12/2023 Special damages: $110,000 Demand: $475,000 Offer: $150,000 Verdict or settlement: Verdict […]
Rotten deck board collapsed, causing severe laceration — $200,000 settlement
Type of action: Premises liability Injuries alleged: Severe laceration to the lower extremity Name of case: Tenney v. Foster, et al. Court: Page County Circuit Court Case no.: CL21000773-00 Date resolved: 1/10/2023 Special damages: $53,397.86 in medical bills; $11,866.79 in lost wages Verdict or settlement: Settlement Amount: $200,000 Attorney for plaintiff: Colin P. O’Dawe, Norfolk […]
Hotel allegedly failed to call timely medical assistance — $1.5M settlement
Type of action: Wrongful death, premises liability Injuries alleged: Death Verdict or settlement: Settlement Amount: $1,500,000 Attorneys for plaintiff (and city): Elliott Buckner, Scott Bucci and Jeff Stedman, Richmond; Eugene Rome and Sridavi Ganesan, Los Angeles, California Description of case: Plaintiff’s decedent died at a Virginia hotel. The plaintiff all[...]
Fall from second story leaves veteran paralyzed — $6M settlement
Type of action: Premises liability Name of judge or mediator: Judge Thomas S. Shadrick (Ret.) Verdict or settlement: Settlement Amount: $6,000,000 Attorneys for plaintiff (and city): John M. Cooper, Norfolk; Bailey L. Gifford, Virginia Beach; and Jan Hoen, Hampton Description of case: The plaintiff, a 44-year-old veteran, was rendered a paraplegic after a fall from […]
Jury sides with condo association after resident assaulted in unit — Defense verdict
Type of action: Premises liability Injuries alleged: Plaintiff sued for $22 million, alleging she suffered fractured bones and severe, chronic post traumatic stress disorder after being assaulted in her condominium unit, because the unit owners association failed to provide adequate security, which was promised to her when she bought her condominium Name of case: Letellier […]
Vacationer’s slip, fall claim fails
Where a tourist allegedly slipped and fell while staying at a Hilton hotel in Aruba, her premises liability claim failed because the Hilton was not the record owner of the resort and the sidewalk was “public.” Background In January 2019, plaintiffs, who reside in New Jersey, traveled to Aruba to stay at the Hilton Aruba […]
Slip-and-fall case to go to jury trial
A premises liability case resulting from a slip-and-fall incident will go to trial after a federal judge denied a motion for summary judgment by the defendant. The ruling by U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia Judge Norman K. Moon means the case will be tried next year. Moon made the decision after […]
Hospital had constructive notice of wet floor
Where plaintiff was injured on a wet floor in defendant hospital, the circuit court erred by granting the hospital’s motion to strike based on plaintiff’s failure to state a prima facie case of negligence. Plaintiff testified at trial that the floor was dry when she left a patient’s room shortly after a janitor entered and […]
Trip-and-fall evidence prompts trial
Where the plaintiff offered photos, video evidence, and fact and expert witness testimony raising a disputed issue over whether loose bricks and sagging caulk in a town center were a dangerous condition, that the owner of the property should have known, and that they caused her fall, the defendant was incorrectly awarded summary judgment. Background […]
Store sanctioned for not preserving footage of slip/fall
Where a Kroger’s security camera recorded portions of a customer’s slip and fall but failed to preserve the footage, multiple sanctions were imposed, including that the store’s summary judgment motion was denied, the jury would be instructed regarding the lost video and the store was precluded from eliciting testimony about the video’s contents. Background Diane […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death