Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC

$1.3M

Premises Liability

Our client, a college student, was a guest at the defendant’s home attending a birthday party. He sustained a severely broken leg when the deck he was standing on collapsed from house to the ground. He had to undergo several surgeries but fortunately made a full recovery. The homeowner contested both liability and damages. We proved lack of safety inspection and maintenance of the deck structure which would have prevented the collapse.

$750,000

Slip and Fall

Our client was a 48-year-old woman who entered an ice cream store in Bethesda, Maryland. The floor was wet, but there were no signs or warnings. She slipped and fell on the wet area, falling forward and striking her head and injuring her low back. The force of the impact was so strong that several of her front teeth were fractured, but her main injury was to her lower back, where she previously had had a surgery. The store originally contested liability, and contested only the extent of her injury and claimed it was the result of her original back injury. After a new surgery, she made a full recovery.

$677,000

Construction Accident

The firm obtained an award of $677,000 when the client, working as a pipefitter, fell two stories through the floor of a multi-story building under construction in the District. Another contractor had weakened the flooring to its breaking point by rolling heavy equipment over the area repeatedly causing it to weaken in order to do its work, but did not reinforce the floor. The contractor and others were previously instructed on several occasions not to transport heavy equipment over the area, but continued to do it. Our client broke his ankle in several places and tore his bicep, and also suffered other injuries including a concussion. The defense argued that our client knew the area was unsafe before the fall.

$260,000

Child Injury

Our client, a 9-year-old boy, was injured when a stack of metal chairs in a playroom fell on top of him and broke his leg and knocked out 2 teeth. The insurance company and operator tried to argue that the children were instructed not to climb on chairs even though they were placed right in the middle of the room. The operator admitted that the room was not inspected for potential hazards to the children before the accident, and it would usually store chairs in a closet. Finally, we found out that the room was being used as a substitute for the playground on the day of the accident because the weather was bad outside where the kids would usually run and play.

$265,000

Slip and Fall

Our client was awarded $265,000 for injuries to her neck, head, and lower back after she slipped down a row of stairs in a common hallway of the building after they had been mopped, but no signs or warnings were put up. The landlord tried to claim that our client should have seen the liquid on the floor, but videotape of the event and a witness who came to the scene right after the fall contradicted this claim.

$175,000

Premises Liability

Our client was a woman who tripped over a leg of a magazine stand that was sticking out into the aisle near the check-out. She sustained a torn rotator cuff and knee injury. The store and insurance company denied liability, arguing that the rack was not sticking out into the path. Video and photos we obtained, showed that it was, and it was not easily seen by people walking in the area.