Marasco & Nesselbush, LLP, a leading Providence-based injury law firm which focusses on catastrophic injuries, secured a $2.9 million settlement against the owner of a multi-unit commercial property after our client, an employee of a building tenant, suffered a serious ankle injury after tripping over a 2 x 4 used to prop open a door at the bottom of a stairwell.
Treatment of our client’s injury required multiple surgeries, but despite this intensive medical intervention, our client suffers from intractable pain due to migrating Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a devastating and progressive neurological dysfunction directly related to her ankle injury. Our client wakes each morning in pain and spends much of her day attempting to get comfortable while managing continued doctor’s appointments, physical therapy sessions, and periodic hospitalizations. Our client has been unable to work since her fall and has been deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration.
Prior to her fall, our client often worked 7 days a week caring for patients, going to the gym and running her busy household. She loved to dance, travel and compete in “Tough Mudder” competitions. Since her fall, the client has never cared for another patient and has herself become a chronic patient.
M&N retained medical experts who testified as to the life-long complications associated with the injury, with one doctor noting that “the disease may progress to more-disabling signs and symptoms: including tissue wasting and atrophy. Beyond the physical toll the injury has taken on our client, doctors detailed the psychological impact of living with chronic, debilitating pain, describing CRPS as the “suicide disease” because of the prevalence of people committing suicide due to the pain.
In addition to medical experts, M&N retained a Human Factor Analysis expert, a professional with expertise in how humans interact with machines and their environment. This expert completed an analysis of the incident site and concluded that the 2×4 board used to hold the door open was a hazard and that safer alternatives existed. The expert further testified that the use of the 2 x 4 board was in violation of the RI Building Code.
Despite efforts by the defendant to avoid liability for our client’s injury, attorney Moran’s years of experience litigating complex negligence cases, coupled with the expert testimony, resulted in the $2.9 million settlement.
“Sadly, our client’s life was permanently changed by the reckless behavior of an irresponsible landlord,” said Attorney Tom Moran. “Beyond losing her livelihood, she’s been deprived of the joy her active life brought her, instead facing a daily battle against pain. I’m proud that we held this landlord accountable and secured a settlement that will provide financial security for our client and a sense of justice.”