Eli Basch and Derek Spada recently obtained a $3,750,000.00 settlement on behalf of a Basch & Keegan client. After a long and difficult battle, justice was obtained.
Our client was a grandmother visiting a museum with her grandchildren. She tripped and fell on ramp that led from one room to another within the museum.
The ramp was built in a way that left a raised lip at the end of the ramp, instead of making it flush with the floor. The museum covered the ramp and surrounding floor with the same wall-to-wall carpet, thereby camouflaging the height differential. The museum recognized that this was a trip hazard and placed yellow caution tape around the edge of the ramp, but removed the tape shortly before our client’s incident.
As a result of tripping on the raised end of the ramp, our client fell and her head struck the floor. She sustained a traumatic brain injury that had a profound effect on her. She remained confined to bed and reliant on a ventilator for nearly three years. Sadly, our client died due to this injury.
Basch & Keegan hired an engineer who determined that the ramp violated the New York State Building Code and other building standards. An expert reported, “The ramp did not smoothly meet the floor on the low side. Instead, the walking surface was approximately 1 ½ inches above the surrounding floor.” The expert went on to say, “The walking surface and sides of the ramp were covered with carpeting of similar pattern and colors as the surrounding floor carpeting. The ramp was improperly constructed and unsafe.”
At the time that COVID struck, our client was unable to see her husband and family. She felt abandoned and passed away while isolated in a nursing facility.
Eli and Derek went up against two tough defense attorneys. It was a long battle, and our attorneys were set to go to trial when the defendant would not offer a fair settlement for our client’s family. Then, a week before trial and after two days of back-to-back settlement conferences, an offer of $3,750,000.00 was agreed upon.
The settlement will help to ease the pain and suffering that our client’s family has endured since this tragic incident. Our client’s husband plans to use some of the proceeds to buy a house for his daughter and grandchildren to make their lives better.