On 4 April 2016 the Plaintiff entered the Defendants store to purchase and consume coffee. As the Plaintiff sat down in the designated chair the back leg of the chair slipped off the edge of a lip causing the Plaintiff to fall landing on the ground heavily.
As a result of the fall the Plaintiff sustained injuries to his lower back, left leg, knee and foot as well as general bruising and lacerations. The injuries to the Plaintiff’s back caused damage to pre-existing spinal fusions which resulted in him having to return to hospital to undergo a laminectomy and spinal fusion.
The Plaintiff attended Gerard Malouf and Partners and spoke with Richele Nelsen in the latter part of 2016. After obtaining the Plaintiff’s clinical records and considering the information contained within Richele felt confidence in her ability to succeed in this matter.
Richele wasted no time in booking the Plaintiff into seeing an orthopaedic surgeon as well as a psychologist so that these medical experts with could provide opinions on the extents of the Plaintiff’s injuries as well as the effect that the pre-existing injuries had on the Plaintiff.
At the time the accident the Plaintiff was not working and had no prospects of returning to work in the near future. This meant that the Plaintiff’s claim was effectively confined to her non-economic loss (pain and suffering), treatment expenses and domestic care.
The domestic care claim made up the largest proportion of the Plaintiff’s claim. Prior to the accident the plaintiff was capable of looking after himself and his family. He was a fit and active person and tackled all aspects of the household tasks including gardening and property maintenance.
As a result of the accident the Plaintiff was rendered incapable of completing the domestic chores he once did. Richele instructed an occupational therapists to assess the capabilities and abilities of the Plaintiff to engage in housework.
Armed with this information Richele approached the defendant solicitors to engage in an informal settlement conference. Ultimately the matter settled for over $210,000 leaving the Plaintiff very pleased knowing that his needs would be looked out for into the future.
At Gerard Malouf & Partners we are not a giant publicly listed law company, but a highly specialised and focused personal injury specialist law firm. We are small enough to care intimately for our clients, but large enough to have the solid financial, and expert resources our client’s need to fight and win their cases!
