Gerard Malouf & Partners recently acted for a 72 year old man who was injured when he slipped and fell on a white spray painted directional arrow on a shopping centre car park surface.
As a result of the fall our client sustained a significant knee fracture and multiple soft tissue injuries and abrasions. His knee injury required surgery and he required months of rehabilitation following the accident before he was able to return home.
Our client initially sought legal representation from another personal injury firm but was turned away because his claim was put in the “too hard basket”.
We took the case on knowing that it was difficult however due to the client’s significant injuries we wanted to exhaust all avenues for the client to obtain compensation for the injuries.
Over a number of months it became apparent that there were up to 3 separate Defendants responsible for the injury: the shopping centre owners, the shopping centre’s maintenance contractor and the maintenance contractor’s line marking contractor. Each Defendant denied liability and responsibility and pointed the blame on the other defendants.
We issued a number of subpoenas to assist us to obtain evidence to identify who was responsible for the line marking of the direction arrow and therefore the injury. Even with the production under subpoena it was difficult to ascertain responsibility for the line marking and prove that it was the spray paint itself that caused the slip.
The matter progressed to a settlement conference and a Hearing date was pending.
Over the course of approximately three hours the 3 defendants and our client negotiated and made a number of offers in an attempt to resolve this risky claim.
Unfortunately the matter was not able to resolve on the day, however some weeks following the conference the defendant offered more money to entice our client and we were able to settle the claim for our client, alleviating the risk of losing at Court and having a cost order made against him.
Our client was pleased with the result. The case had been running for a number of years due to its complexities. He was relieved that the claim was over and that he would soon have money to resume some treatment, especially hydrotherapy, for which he found some relief from his symptoms.
If you have been injured in a slip and fall, and you are unsure as to whether your claim will be worthwhile, contact Gerard Malouf & Partners on 1800 004 878 for a free initial consultation to see if we are able to assist you make your claim. We recommend obtaining a second opinion from our firm if your claim has been turned down from one of our competitors.
We always recommend having legal representation in your slip and fall claim as it can make all the difference.
