Case details
Failure to warn of wet floor resulted in slip and fall: plaintiff
SUMMARY
$225000
Amount
Mediated Settlement
Result type
Not present
Ruling
KEYWORDS
rotator cuff, shoulder, subscapularis muscle, subscapularis tendon, tear
FACTS
On Oct. 10, 2010, plaintiff Angeline Datingaling, 57, a mail sorter, was working at the DHL warehouse in Commerce when she slipped and fell on a wet, mopped floor. She sustained a tear of her left rotator cuff. Datingaling pursued a worker’s compensation claim with her employer, DHL. She also sued Richard Milian, who was doing business as Ricardo Maintenance Inc., an outside contractor hired to clean and maintain the floors. Datingaling alleged the maintenance company was negligent for creating a dangerous condition by failing to place safety markers on the wet floor. Continental Business Maintenance was erroneously named and ultimately dropped from the case. Datingaling contended that since mopping was being done during business hours (at a 24-hour facility), adequate safety warnings should have been in place or the area should have been roped off. She claimed that although she saw the person mopping, she concluded that he must have been dry mopping, since no signs were in place. Milian’s counsel contended that the condition was open and obvious, as Datingaling acknowledged seeing the maintenance worker mopping in the area as she entered the room., Three days after the accident, Datingaling presented to industrial doctors and was diagnosed with a tear of her left shoulder’s subscapularis tendon, which is an element of the rotator cuff. She subsequently treated with physical therapy and then cortisone injections. In June 2011, Datingaling underwent a surgical repair of her left shoulder, followed by additional physical therapy. She then underwent a debridement procedure in October 2011. Datingaling claimed she was on modified duty from work during most of her initial treatment/recovery, but has been largely off work since the surgeries. However, she claimed that she no longer seeks any further treatment. Thus, Datingaling sought recovery of $32,344.55 in past medical costs (workers’ compensation lien), $47,785 in lost earnings, and an unspecified amount of damages for her pain and suffering.
COURT
Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
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INJURIES:
- anxiety
- brain
- brain damage
- brain injury
- cognition
- depression
- epidural
- extradural hematoma
- face
- facial bone
- fracture
- head
- headaches
- hearing
- impairment
- insomnia
- loss of
- mental
- nose
- psychological
- scapula
- sensory
- shoulder
- skull
- speech
- subdural hematoma
- tinnitus
- traumatic brain injury
- vision
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