The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

$200,000 Verdict for Senior Who Tripped and Broke Shoulder

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Larry Bodine
settlement, verdict, law news, legal news

The corner of Cottman and Montague today.

A Philadelphia County jury awarded $200,000 to an elderly woman for an injury resulting from a trip and fall accident, in a premises liability claim against Defendants, Cui Lan Dong, Ben Yi Zhu and the City of Philadelphia .

Abbie Butler was walking her dog on the sidewalk of the property owned by defendants Dong and Zhu, located at 4236 Cottman Ave. near Montague St. in Philadelphia on November 12, 2012, when she tripped on a large crack in the sidewalk and fell. Butler, who was in her sixties at the time, suffered a dislocation and fracture of her right shoulder.

Immediately after the accident she sought medical care for the shoulder injury in the emergency room. Doctors placed her shoulder in a sling and put her on a home exercise program. Butler required assistance in everyday tasks, such as bathing and getting dressed. The fall greatly restricted her daily actions and hindered her ability to enjoy gardening, her favorite activity. She continued a home exercise program up through the trial. She is right hand dominant and as a result, the injury and subsequent mobility restrictions caused significant hardship and suffering.

“We know nothing” defense

The defendants contended that they were never made aware of a defect in the sidewalk by their tenants, nor had the city of Philadelphia recorded any complaints about the maintenance of the sidewalk. They also argued that it was a clear sunny day on the day of the accident, and that there were no obstructions in place to block plaintiff’s sight. The defendants also argued that the condition of the sidewalk was open and obvious, so much so, that the plaintiff should have seen the crack as there was grass growing out of it.

The defense asserted that Butler was comparatively negligent for failing to be vigilant and watch where she was walking. They also questioned the severity of her shoulder injury, asserting that the injury healed with minimal medical treatment.

The case went to trial before the Judge Rosalyn Robinson. After a three-day trial, the jury returned an award of $200,000 for Ms. Butler, finding that defendants, Dong and Zhu were 100% liable for Ms. Butler’s injury and that she was entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering she endured as a result of the accident. Ms. Butler was not found to be comparatively at fault for the accident.

Plaintiff’s attorney Susan B. Ayres expressed her “ongoing desire to fight for the rights of injured Philadelphians.” She reminds everyone that “property owners must maintain their properties in order to prevent accidents like this from occurring.”

Posted in Blog

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Subscribe to Blog and VFJ via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog, the Voice for Justice and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the United States has[Read More...]
Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Bingen, Wash.-based Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it used recycl[Read More...]
Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

DEUTSCHE Bank AG agreed to pay US$130 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it bribed foreign officials and manip[Read More...]
Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing has agreed to pay just over $2.5 billion to resolve a federal charge of “criminal misconduct” for how its [Read More...]
Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

The mass exodus of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's top staff over accusations of bribery against their former boss has le[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.