$525,000 for Fractured Femur in Grocery Store Fall
Client Fractured Femur in Fall at Grocery Store
Client Hires The Champion Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.C. For Serious Injury Case
In December 2014, a client, MR, contacted The Champion Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.C. the same day he fell in a grocery store in Griffin, Georgia. According to MR, he was walking in the grocery store when he slipped on water. He fell hard and his left leg went behind him. The fall fractured his femur, which is most people know as the thigh bone. He also broke his wrist. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
The fall happened on a Thursday. On Friday, Darl Champion went to the hospital in Griffin to personally meet with the client. That morning, MR had undergone major surgery to repair his femur that involved a surgeon inserting a plate with screws to get the bone to heal. MR hired us to represent him that day.
The Champion Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.C. Immediately Files a Lawsuit
On the following Monday, the first business day after being hired, The Champion Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.C. filed a lawsuit against the grocery store. We decided to file the lawsuit immediately because we knew that insurance companies seldom offer fair settlements if you just sit around and do not push the case. This is particularly true in serious injury cases.
When we filed the lawsuit, we quickly learned that a contractor the grocery store hired was responsible for the water being on the floor. It turned out that the water came from a leaking cooler that the contractor was pushing through the grocery store. As a result, we added the contractor to the lawsuit.
We conducted depositions and obtained documents and other evidence regarding the investigation into the incident. We learned that the contractor’s employee knew the water had been leaking because a grocery store employee had told him. This also meant that the grocery store knew about the leaky cooler.
The Settlement Process
Early in the lawsuit, the defendants tried to settle the case. They only offered $250,000, which was not a fair offer. Our client sustained very serious, painful injuries that would be permanent. His total medical bills were over $92,000. We turned down the offer and proceeded with the case.
After more depositions were conducted, the defendants wanted to negotiate. This time, their top offer was $525,000, more than twice what was originally offered.
This case shows why it is important to have an experienced personal injury lawyer to pursue your case aggressively. You should never choose a lawyer who will just sit around and wait for a check to show up. The best results are achieved when you have a lawyer on your side who is fighting for you. Because we did not back down, our client got more than twice what the insurance company first wanted to settle for.