$940,000 – REVOLVING ENTRANCE DOOR KNOCKS 80 YEAR OLD WOMAN DOWN CAUSING INJURY

On April 30, 2018, an 80 year old woman who was partially disabled due to Parkinson’s Disease was knocked down by a malfunctioning revolving entrance door at Macy’s in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA. We alleged a violation of the American Disability Act (ADA) and the Unruh Act of California. Both of these laws impose strict liability for actual damages and statutory minimum damages.

Prior to her injury, although she had Parkinson’s Disease, our client was completely independent and exercised daily. She was also the primary caretaker for her husband. Macy’s originally denied liability and blamed our client for her fall. However, once we learned she had Parkinson’s Disease and was partially disabled, we changed the case from a premises liability case for negligence to an ADA case and argued there was no comparative fault.

In another recent ADA case we represented a partially disabled woman who fell at a building entrance that contained an uneven brick walkway. Our client made a good recovery from a badly fractured elbow and we were able to achieve a settlement just under a half million dollars by alleging an ADA case. The building owners attempted to blame the fall on our client’s alleged negligence. We defeated that alleged claim and achieved a good result in a difficult case.

Premises liability cases involving persons with disabilities can be pursued to achieve very successful settlements when a person is represented by a law firm experienced in ADA injury cases. Slip and fall cases are usually difficult to win because the premises owners always argue the fall was due to the injured person’s negligence or carelessness. However, if the victim is disabled, we can achieve a large settlement to fully compensate a disabled person who is injured by a faulty entrance or a dangerous condition inside a building.