Facial Injuries

The award-winning team at Davis Law Group Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers successfully secured a $1.5 million settlement on behalf of a woman who suffered catastrophic and permanent injuries after a dangerous parking garage hazard caused her to trip and fall.

Details of the Tragic Fall

On August 5, 2021, S.M., a 69-year-old woman, and her husband went out to celebrate her upcoming 70^th birthday at a local restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant is located within a retail shopping center that includes an underground parking garage with a separate entrance into the restaurant.

After finishing dinner, the couple exited through the door leading directly into the parking garage, a door they had not previously used. As her husband held the door open, our client walked through and immediately tripped over a concrete wheel stop that had been placed directly in the pedestrian walking path. The wheel stop blended into the surrounding concrete and was not visible to her before the fall. She fell forward striking her head violently on the ground.

Emergency responders transported her to the hospital, where she remained hospitalized for three days. Our client was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, a brain hemorrhage, and a C4 vertebrae (neck) fracture.

Pre-Incident Life vs. Post-Incident Reality

Before the accident, S.M. lived an independent, family-centered life. She enjoyed reading, traveling, taking daily walks, and spending meaningful time playing with her grandchildren.

As a result of the accident, she now lives with chronic pain, significant physical limitations, and permanent neurological symptoms. She can no longer read for extended periods, take walks, or engage with her grandchildren in the ways she once cherished.

Her injuries were classified as severe and permanent, and her physicians confirmed that she would never return to her pre-incident baseline.

Expert Evidence and Analysis Confirming Liability

The experienced team of premise liability lawyers at Davis Law Group demonstrated that the defendants failed to maintain the parking garage in a reasonably safe condition for the public. The wheel stop that caused the fall was improperly positioned and was not marked or painted in a manner that would alert individuals to its presence.

Our team retained a nationally recognized parking industry expert who found that multiple wheel stops through the garage were improperly installed and disrupted pedestrian paths. He further concluded that the garage was in an overall state of disrepair.

Davis Law Group demonstrated that the defendants could have avoided such hazards by relocating the wheel stop or properly marking it. Their failure to do so violated their duty of care to customers on the premise.

Attorneys David Reeve and Chris Davis represented the woman and presented additional evidence and opinions from a team of experts, including a human factors specialist, neurologists, neuropsychologists, treating physicians, and clinical psychologists. This evidence established both the dangerous nature of the condition and the permanent, life-altering consequences our client suffered as a result of the fall.

Final Resolution and Settlement for TBI Victim

After more than two years of hard-fought litigation, the case was resolved in February 2024 with a $1.5 Million settlement.

While no amount of financial recovery can fully restore our client’s health or independence, the result provides financial aid and access to necessary care for the rest of her life. And through the work of Davis Law Group’s team of attorneys and legal staff, the resolution ensured the negligent property owners were held accountable for their negligent design of the parking lot in question.