Facts

Plaintiff Jane Doe, 81, filed a suit againd defendant Doe Hospital claiming she suffered a trip and fall incident on Oct. 30, 2013, in the handicap parking lot at Doe Hospital.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended she was at the hospital visiting a patient and while walking back to her car she tripped over a wheel stop in a handicap parking space and fell forward onto the pavement. After the incident, the wheel stops were covered with reflective decals, the surrounding pavement was painted bright yellow and large, bright orange construction-style pylons were placed next to every wheel stop in the handicap lot. Plaintiff claimed that her fall was caused by insufficient lighting, inadequately painted and marked handicap parking spaces, as well as inadequately marked and improperly configured concrete wheel stops in the handicap parking area. Plaintiff argued that inadequate lighting in the parking lot was a substantial factor in causing the accident.

According to plaintiff's expert, the minimum safe amount of light for a parking lot is 0.2-0.6 foot-candles of lighting, but the lighting in the area where plaintiff fell measured only 0.01-0.04 foot candles.

Plaintiff argued that the concrete wheel stop she fell over was painted blue, and lacked any reflectors, stripes or visible borders to warn pedestrians of its existence. The blue paint camouflaged the concrete block against the asphalt parking lot at night, particularly since light in the area was 3 percent to 10 percent of what was considered safe in the industry.

According to plaintiff, wheel stops should be placed perpendicularly in relation to traffic flow to ensure the wheel stops are completely underneath the parked vehicles, and thereby eliminating trip hazards. Plaintiff also argued that the wheel stops in the hospital parking lot were placed at angles, causing them to protrude from the front driver's side of each parked vehicle and into the path of pedestrians, resulting in a serious trip hazard that was partially hidden by parked vehicle themselves.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant admitted liability.

Settlement Discussions

According to plaintiff, she made a pre-litigation settlement demand for $335,002. Defendant did not extend any pre-mediation offers, but indicated a willingness to mediate a settlement. According to defense, the demand at mediation was $440,000.

Damages

After the appropriate Haniff/Howell reductions, plaintiff claimed $75,911 for medical and dental expenses.

Injuries

Plaintiff was admitted to Doe Hospital, diagnosed with blunt head trauma and fifth metacarpal fracture and discharged three days later. She was subsequently diagnosed with exacerbation of pre-existing and chronic cervical pain in her right hand, right wrist, right arm, right shoulder, neck and lower back. Plaintiff was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome for which she underwent right carpal tunnel release surgery. Plaintiff also claimed she had to have three of her teeth crowned and has a dental bridge to treat her dental injuries. Defendant disputed the extent of plaintiff's injuries and argued that plaintiff's injuries were limited to a metacarpal fracture and minor exacerbation of pre-existing conditions. Defendant's medical expert opined that plaintiff returned to her pre-accident state of health within three to four months after the accident and did not suffer carpal tunnel injuries as a result of the accident. Defendant claimed that the carpal tunnel surgery was completely unrelated, that some of her dental expenses were unrelated and that plaintiff's reasonable medical expenses were less than $30,000.

Result

The parties settled for $250,000.