Case details
Plaintiff: Hospital’s failure to repair leaking toilet caused fall
SUMMARY
$14723.49
Amount
Verdict-Plaintiff
Result type
Not present
Ruling
KEYWORDS
back, bulging disc, lumbar
FACTS
On Aug. 15, 2009, at approximately 5 a.m., plaintiff Delores Brown, a 54-year-old unemployed/disabled woman, woke up in her room at the Transitional Care Unit of Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, where she was admitted three days before, and attempted to use the bathroom. While in the bathroom, Brown slipped and fell, her lower back. Brown sued Methodist Hospital of Southern California. She alleged that the hospital failed to inspect and repair a dangerous condition, and that it had constructive notice of said condition. Brown claimed that when she was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 12, 2009, she had complained about the bathroom floor being wet. She alleged that maintenance came to her room to mop up the wet bathroom floor, but that the wet floor recurred because the toilet was leaking. Brown claimed that Methodist Hospital failed to inspect and repair the toilet, which would have prevented the floor from getting wet and causing her slip and fall. Methodist Hospital contended that maintenance never mopped the floor on Aug. 12, 2009, as Brown alleged. Thus, the hospital claimed that it had no notice of a wet floor or a leaking toilet prior to the subject accident. The hospital’s maintenance supervisor claimed that inspections of bathrooms were done on a regular basis, and that the subject leaking toilet was never reported prior to the accident., Following her fall, Brown treated with an orthopedist and was diagnosed with a lumbar disc bulge at L5-S1. She subsequently treated the injury with three to four months of chiropractic care and pain management. She also received two epidural injections. Brown claimed she considered surgery for her lower back, but decided against it due to her medical condition. She alleged that as a result, she will require conservative treatment of her back for the remainder of her life, since she still experiences pain and discomfort that affects her mobility. Thus, Brown sought recovery of $9,723.49 in damages for her past medical costs, $62,400 in damages for her future medical costs, $60,000 in damages for her past pain and suffering, and $260,000 in damages for her future pain and suffering. Defense counsel contended that Brown’s lower back injury was due to a pre-existing, chronic and degenerative condition, which was not caused or worsened by the slip and fall.
COURT
Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Pasadena, 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
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- loss of
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- speech
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- tinnitus
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