Confidential
Settlement – $637,500Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Geoffrey S. Wells
(Greene, Broillet & Wheeler LLP)
R. Browne Greene
(Greene, Broillet & Wheeler, LLP)
Defendant
Mark A. Weinstein
(Veatch Carlson LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
Stanley Weiss
(medical)
Anthony Mesa
(technical)
Jeffrey Wheeler
(technical)
Marcus Hockberg
(medical)
Wes Pabst
(technical)
Defendant
Arthur P. Kowell M.D., Ph.D.
(medical)
Tony L. Strickland Ph.D.
(medical)
Facts
On Dec. 6, 1998, plaintiff, a 62-year-old office manager, was dining at defendant restaurant with her daughter. At some point during the meal, plaintiff sought to utilize the restroom facilities of the restaurant which were located upstairs. Upon attempting to return to her table after using the restroom, plaintiff was severely injured as a result of falling down the entire flight of stairs and hitting her head against the wall at the bottom of the landing. Plaintiff lapsed into a coma as a consequence of her fall and was hospitalized in critical care for over two months. Plaintiff had no recall of the accident or how it happened. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant based on a premises liability theory of recovery. Plaintiff's husband had a claim for loss of consortium.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $1 million. The defendant made no offers
Specials in Evidence
approximately $200,000 disputed disputed
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed she suffered a brain injury with loss of some higher cognitive functioning.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately one year and three months after the case was filed. A settlement conference was held on July 2, 1998, before Hon. Enrique Romero of Los Angeles Superior Court resulting in the reported settlement.
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