$1,175,000

DATE OF SETTLEMENT
2009-04-23

COURT AND COUNTY
Supreme Kings

AGE AND OCCUPATION OF PLAINTIFF
Plaintiff was a 38 year-old home attendant.

DESCRIPTION OF CASE
Plaintiff was shopping at a supermarket near her home in the Bronx. She was pushing her cart down the middle of an aisle, when suddenly 4-6 gallon jugs of cranberry juice fell down from the display to her left, a distance of approximately 15 feet, and landed on Plaintiff's head, neck and left shoulder. Plaintiff sued the supermarket, arguing that the store's employees were negligent in the manner in which they had stacked the juice bottles.

INJURIES/DAMAGES
Plaintiff suffered an exacerbation of a prior neck condition. She had a pre-existing herniated disc in her cervical spine at C5/C6, and a long history of prior neck complaints. This incident worsened her neck pain, leading to a neck surgery consisting of a microdiscectomy with fusion at the C5/C6 level. Plaintiff also sustained a tear of the glenoid labrum in her left shoulder, which was addressed operatively via arthroscopy.

Defendants pointed to Plaintiff's prior cervical spine herniation at the same level, and lost history of severe neck complaints in arguing that Plaintiff's neck problems all existed before the incident. They further argued that Plaintiff's other unrelated medical conditions, such as her severe migraine headaches and heart condition that required her to be on oxygen, impacted her life far greater than the injuries suffered in this incident. Plaintiff had no lost earnings claim.

VERDICT/SETTLEMENT AMOUNT
$1,175,000

NOTE
This case was handled by Stephen J. Murphy, Esq. (lead) and David L. Scher, Esq.