One of the more recent trip and fall cases that I’ve dealt with involved, not so much a trip and fall, but a bookcase at an after-school program that was hanging off of a wall. My client, who was under 18 at the time, was struck by that bookcase when it came falling down.
My client and his family knew many of the other students in the classroom. Through investigation and speaking to witnesses, which I spoke earlier about as being very important, we learned that there had been many complaints made about this bookcase and that it was dangerous.
It was right in an area of heavy traffic in a hallway where students, teachers, and other adults would pass by on a daily basis. So, it really shouldn’t have been a surprise to anybody that this bookcase collapsed.
Through getting witness statements, speaking to other parents who had made complaints, and document discovery, we obtained all of those complaints and letters that had been written. It was very clear that this bookcase should have been removed and, in fact, had not been removed for almost a year, which was unacceptable.
My client went through a lot. He went through casting due to a fracture, medical treatment, and physical therapy. He missed a lot of time from school and time from a part-time job and was very happy with the result and satisfied with the conclusion.
Because we got those witness statements, discovery, and evidence very early on in the case, we were able to conclude it relatively quickly, in about a year. That seems like a long time, and it’s a very long time in someone’s life, but when dealing with litigation, the courts, and insurance carriers, sometimes getting something done like that in a year with a really satisfactory conclusion is not easy to do.
So, I was very happy with that one very recently.