News & Events

Seth Goldberg, a partner in our Hollywood office, recently obtained a Defense Verdict in a slip and fall case in Broward County, Florida. Plaintiff alleged he slipped and fell down the exterior stairs, in the rain, at the apartment complex where he had lived for over a year before the fall. The Defendants owned and maintained the property. The Plaintiff testified that he did not hold onto the available handrail as he descended the steps. Plaintiff alleged his fall was caused by the exterior light that illuminated the stairwell being out on the evening of the fall and the construction of the steps violated the applicable building codes when they were built in 1990. As a result of the fall, Plaintiff underwent two neck surgeries and a shoulder surgery. The submitted medical bills were approximately $1,000,000.  The Court bifurcated the case and only the liability part of the trial was considered.  The jury deliberated for an hour and a half before returning with a defense verdict in favor of the property owner and property management company. The property owner and property management company will now seek to collect attorney’s fees and costs stemming from a rejected Proposal for Settlement filed several years ago.