Highlands County man settles premises liability case for $141,000


A 35-year-old Highlands County man was injured when he fell through the front porch of a home where he was making a furniture delivery. He had just started working as a delivery person for a popular furniture chain and was making one of his first deliveries when he was injured. Our client and one of his co-workers were carrying a large couch through the front door of the defendant’s residence when the wooden front porch gave way from underneath him. Our client ended up falling through an opening in the porch and became lodged between the porch’s wooden planks. He fell far enough into the hole in the porch that only his neck and head were visible above the top of the porch. 911 was called and EMS workers arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. They were able to remove our client from the hole in the porch and bring him to the hospital. X-rays of our client’s right knee were taken at the hospital which revealed a chondral fracture of the medial femoral condyle. He was prescribed pain medication and crutches and instructed to seek follow-up care.

Injured man is fired by furniture company that did not want to compensate him

It was apparent that the homeowner was negligent for what happened to our client. The front porch of the home was deteriorating and poorly maintained. They should never have allowed anyone to traverse their front porch, especially two men carrying a large couch weighing in excess of 150 pounds. Though our client was working for a furniture company at the time of his injury, the employer waived worker’s compensation immunity by refusing to provide worker’s comp coverage. His employer fired him on the spot, leaving him injured, broke and desperate. He called the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer immediately, and our office quickly made the claim against the homeowner and our client’s employer.

Client requires knee surgery

Our client described his knee pain as an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. He could not go on any longer suffering from this injury and required emergency surgery. Luckily, he was scheduled for arthroscopic surgery to repair the knee. His surgery was a success and he reported a relatively quick recovery time. He looked forward to being able to work and exercise again. Our office demanded that our client be compensated for his injuries as they were severe and limiting. Initially, the insurance company for the homeowner disputed the value of our client’s case arguing that, since his surgery, he had recovered relatively well and therefore had no permanent injuries.

Dell and Schaefer battles insurance company to obtain $141,000 settlement

Our attorneys refuted the arguments of the insurance companies by pointing out that our client was not negligent in any way and had suffered a great deal due to the negligence of their insured. Though the settlement offers were initially minimal, our attorneys were able to finally negotiate a $141,000 settlement. This enabled our client to pay all outstanding medical bills. The settlement also ensured that he was compensated for lost wages, past pain and suffering and future pain and suffering. Though our client suffered a great deal as a result of the negligence of another, he felt comfort in knowing that his medical bills were paid and that he would be able to receive compensation for the inconvenience.



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