Facts

Plaintiff Patrick Mullvain, 51, was living in defendant's apartment complex. In the afternoon of March 20, 2011, while walking from his apartment to the laundry room, plaintiff noticed that the cemented ground of the walkways, the covered and carpeted walkway to the laundry room, and the cemented ground in the laundry room were covered in water. There were heavy rains that day.

On his way back from the laundry room, plaintiff claimed his foot slipped on accumulated water, dirt and leaves. Plaintiff sued the defendant for negligence.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff alleged that defendant negligently maintained the premises. The drainage system was insufficient, thereby allowing water to accumulate, as well as for dirt and leaves to accumulate from the adjacent landscaped area.

Plaintiff claimed that his body slammed onto the ground, head first. The impact was severe, and the tenants in the nearby apartment unit heard the thud and came out to find plaintiff lying in a pool of blood seeping from a large gash in the back of his head. Plaintiff was rendered unconscious and regained consciousness in a disoriented and confused state. Plaintiff attempted to touch his face with his hand, but was unable to do so because of his loss of coordination. In a state of confusion, plaintiff managed to drag himself to his apartment and refused paramedics since he did not have health insurance. Although plaintiff had hoped that his injuries were superficial and that they would resolve quickly, they did not.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant contended that plaintiff walked down an outdoor hallway in the rain. Plaintiff claimed that there was a half inch deep standing water in the exposed part of the walkway, which plaintiff traipsed through, wearing either flip flops or bare foot. Plaintiff dropped clothes off at the laundry room and walked back in the same direction. He claims that he stepped off of a carpet into this puddle, fell and struck his head.

Defendant contended that plaintiff had never seen standing water in the area where he fell, at any time prior to this incident. Plaintiff had never complained about the area of the subject accident, nor was he aware of anyone else complaining about this condition.

Defendant contends VPR has a staff of employees who walk and inspect the premises daily, looking for any dangerous conditions and that none of the VPR employees had ever observed standing water or any other dangerous condition in the area where plaintiff claims to have fallen. Defendant has no liability for this incident because it had no notice of any alleged dangerous condition. Further, as by plaintiff's own admission, he walked through the water beforehand, which was open and obvious and therefore no negligence can be shown.

Defendant further contended there was substantial comparative negligence on the part of plaintiff for voluntarily entering an area where there may be a danger and for wearing inappropriate footwear on a rainy day.

Injuries

Plaintiff sustained injury to his face, jaw and head and sustained an occipital laceration. He experienced, including but not limited to, dizziness, loss of ability to smell, weight loss, weakness to his upper and lower extremities, and blurred vision. Moreover, as a result of the subject incident, plaintiff was diagnosed with a complex traumatic brain injury. Plaintiff's injuries and decreased brain function will impair him for the rest of his life.

Result

The case settled for $275,000.

Other Information

INSURER: ACE Insurance.