Slip and Fall

Maryland Attorney Sues Baltimore For Burn Injuries Caused By Fall Accident into Construction Hole

October 10, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, a North Baltimore attorney that sustained serious personal injuries after falling into a construction hole is suing the city, a number of Trigen-Baltimore Energy Corp. entities, Ligon & Ligon Inc., and Johnson Controls Inc. Arianne Spaccarelli sustained serious burn injuries to nearly half her body in the fall accident that occurred in 2005.

In her Maryland personal injury lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, Spaccarelli and her husband Robert Galassi blame the party’s negligence for her fall into the steam pit. The accident occurred at the intersection of Saratoga Street and Guilford Avenue when the couple was walking back to her car after dinner.

Spaccarelli had been walking next to a fenced off construction area, when she fell into the pit. The lawsuit maintains that the construction hole existed beyond the fence. Her husband pulled her out of the hole, but not before she sustained second-and third-degree burns on more than 43% her of her body.

Ed McMahon Sues Hospital, Doctors, and Investment Tycoon for Personal Injury

July 22, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Television host Ed McMahon is suing Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, two doctors, and an investment tycoon for personal injury. He says that the neck injury he suffered from a fall accident makes it impossible for him to work and is the cause of his financial problems.

McMahon says he fell down a ramp-like staircase during a dinner party at the home of Robert Day, an investment tycoon, and that the stairwell was “unsafe” because it didn’t have handrails or proper lighting. Day is one of the defendants in the lawsuit.

McMahon is also suing Cedar-Sinai Medical Center and two of its doctors for discharging him with a broken neck following the fall accident and failing to properly perform two surgeries. McMahon says that it was his cardiologist who later diagnosed the neck injury.

The 85-year-old former TV host says that he cannot work because of his injuries and is now $644,000 behind on mortgage payments. He has already undergone three surgeries to repair his neck injury.

A spokesperson for McMahon says the personal lawsuit comes following failed negotiations with the defendants. McMahon is seeking compensation for battery, negligence, elder abuse, and emotional distress.

Medical Malpractice

Doctors and hospitals are supposed to provide patients with a certain level of care. When failure to provide that care leads to injury or the exacerbation of an existing injury or illness, the health care provider can be held liable for medical malpractice.

Premises Liability

Slip/trip, and fall accidents can occur when there is an unsafe condition on a property that leads to injury accidents. Property owners must make sure that there are no hazards on a premise that can cause someone to slip and fall or trip and fall. Slip/trip and fall accidents can lead to painful injuries.

In Maryland and Washington DC, contact our personal injury lawyers to discuss your case.

Ed McMahon Files Lawsuit Over Neck Injury, CNN.com, July 19, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Ed McMahon Explains his Mortgage Mess, CNN.com, June 6, 2008

Seniors Injured in Fall Accidents Can Suffer from Traumatic Brain Injuries

July 16, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that 56,000 seniors age 65 and older were hospitalized in 2005 because of traumatic brain injuries sustained in fall accidents. Nearly 8,000 people died as a result of these TBIs. The study results were published in this June’s issue of the Journal of Safety Research.

TBIs were a factor in the 50% of accidental fall deaths and 8% of non-fatal fall-related hospitalizations involving seniors. The older people are, the greater their chances of becoming involved in a fall accident. Poor balance, chronic health issues, loss of sensation in the feet, muscular issues, eyesight problems, vision loss, and medication side effect have been known to contribute to an elderly person getting hurt in a fall accident.

According to CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Director Ileana Arias, while most people worry that older people will break a hip when they fall, traumatic brain injuries are also a serious worry. It doesn’t help that traumatic brain injuries among seniors can easily be misdiagnosed or missed.

Falls are the number one case of injury and death for seniors age 65 and older. 1 out of 3 elderly Americans will get hurt in a fall accident every year. 30% of fall accidents require the victim to seek medical care.

In 2005:
• Almost 16,000 seniors died from fall accidents.
• 1.8 million seniors were seen at hospital ER’s.

• 433,000 seniors involved in fall accidents were hospitalized.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Seniors can be especially prone to injury if the owner of a property or business is negligent and neglects to repair or clean up a hazardous condition that could result in a slip/trip and fall accident.

In Maryland and Washington DC, our slip and fall accident lawyers can determine whether the premise owner/manager could have done more to prevent your fall accident from happening.

Senior Falls Can Lead to Brain Injury, WashingtonPost.com, June 24, 2008
Prevent Brain Injury, CDC.gov

Related Web Resources:

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Traumatic Brain Injuries, National Institute of Neurological Disorders

Former Supreme Court Nominee Robert Bork Settles Slip and Fall Accident Lawsuit With Yale Club

May 13, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Former Yale Law School Professor Robert Bork has agreed to a $1 million slip and fall lawsuit he had filed for injuries he suffered at the Yale Club of New York City in 2006. The details of the settlement are confidential.

Bork injured himself at the alumni social club when he fell while stepping onto a dais to make a speech. He filed the million-dollar lawsuit because he said that the club acted negligently when it failed to provide him stairs or a handrail that he could use while mounting the stage.

The 81-year-old one-time Supreme Court nominee says that he experienced excruciating pain from the large hematoma that formed on his leg as a result of the fall accident. Bork says he underwent months of medical care and surgery.

Yale Club’s lawyers had placed part of the blame with Bork because he had tried to climb onstage.

Bork was a law professor at Yale Law School from 1962 to 1982. His nomination to become a Supreme Court judge in 1987 fell through after Senate Democrats rejected his conservative judicial record.

Slip and Fall Accidents

If you are someone that has sustained serious injuries because you slipped or tripped and fell on someone else’s premise and the owner of the premise could have taken steps to prevent the accident from happening, you may be able to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit against the negligent party.

Slip and fall accidents can lead to painful and serious injuries, including broken bones, dislocated hips, back injuries, head injuries, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. Many injuries sustained in fall accidents can take weeks or months of recovery.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., our premises liability law firm has successfully dealt with many kinds of slip/trip and fall accident cases for our clients and we know how to properly investigate and pursue your case so you can obtain the financial recovery that you need to heal.

Yale Club settles ex-nominee Bork’s suit over 2006 stumble, Washington Post, May 9, 2008
Bork settles lawsuit in fall at Yale Club, Newsday.com, May 9, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Read the Lawsuit (PDF)

Yale Club of New York City