The Personal Injury Attorneys at Lipkin & Apter were contacted by A.H., a 76 year old man who tripped and fell on a broken curb/sidewalk at a suburban movie theater. A.H. had parked his car in the lot in front of the theater and was walking to the ticket window when he tripped.
The fall resulted in a fracture of his femur (thigh bone) requiring surgery and weeks of inpatient and outpatient physical therapy. Lipkin & Apter retained the services of an engineer to examine the sidewalk and curbing at the theater complex. The engineer found that the property owner had violated several local safety standards relating to the maintenance of the property, including allowing a large gap to exist in the curb/sidewalk.
We had professional photographs taken showing the defect in the curb.A.H. missed several months of work because of his fall. Shortly after filing suit, Lipkin & Apter was contacted by the attorneys for the property owner, and asked to participate in an alternative dispute resolution forum called “mediation.”
Mediation is generally conducted by a retired Judge. The mediator does not rule on the evidence in the case. Instead, the mediator’s role is to try and bring the parties together for settlement. The process is non-binding. Either side may decide the process is not to their liking, and proceed to trial.
In A.H.’s case, with his presence and participation in the mediation, we successfully negotiated a settlement of $325,000.00. There was also a very substantial saving to A.H. in time and expense compared with a jury trial.
Thousands of people are injured each year in slip-and-fall cases. Some of them may be successful, others not. If you should suffer a serious injury in a slip-and-fall case, the Personal Injury Attorneys at Lipkin & Apter will help you obtain fair, reasonable and just compensation for your injuries in accordance with Illinois law.