$300,000 Recovered in Vrbo Trip-and-Fall Case

$300,000 Recovered in Vrbo Trip-and-Fall Case

Our client in this case was an 80-year-old man who was staying with his family at a Vrbo rental cabin in Ranger, GA ahead of a family wedding the next day. Our client was very excited to see the bride (his niece) and celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

Unfortunately, he would never see his niece get married because the day before the wedding he tripped and fell on a poorly designed stair in the cabin. Instead of celebrating the special event with his family, our client was forced to miss it.

The stair that caused our client’s injuries blended into the cabin floor landing. It had no reachable railing by it, and it was shorter than all the other stairs before it. When our client went to take this step, he was unaware that it was still part of the staircase and, when he fell, had nothing to grab onto to stop his fall. 

He tripped and fell, landing hard, and snapping his right ankle, tibia, and fibula. He was in immediate pain, and his leg had an obvious deformity, with his right ankle turned to the inside of his leg. 

His family called 911 and he was taken in an ambulance to Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center. X-rays showed that our client had suffered a displaced comminuted fracture of the shaft of his right fibula and tibia. 

In addition to the medical bills for our client’s treatment over the following days, weeks, and months being a burden to him, he was devastated to have missed his niece’s wedding.

Attorney Eric Funt took this case and retained a human factors and applied psychology expert who found that the stairway which injured our client violated the applicable code and presented a danger that contributed to our client’s fall and resulting injuries. 

Below you can see photos showing how the stair in question was easy to overlook, shorter than the other stairs, and unguarded by a handrail:

Difficult-to-see stair

Side view of stair height discrepancy

Lack of railing for last stair

Thanks to Eric and the rest of The Champion Firm team, the insurer agreed to settle for $300,000.

About The Champion Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.C.

If you or a loved one was injured by someone else’s negligence, contact The Champion Firm today for a free case consultation. Our contingency fee structure means you only pay for our services if and when we win your case.