24 Year-old Pregnant Mother of Two Injured in Slip and Fall at Popular Grocery Chain

Author: Attorney Jason Macri

A 24 year-old pregnant mother of two from North Miami was injured when she slipped and fell at a popular South Florida grocery chain. She had just entered the store and was walking by the meat department with two children in tow when she slipped and fell in a clear puddle of liquid on the floor. She lay in the puddle for a couple of minutes while both children began to scream in horror at the sight of their mother writhing on the floor in pain. A manager of the store responded to the scene within a couple of minutes and upon his arrival, immediately called 911. An ambulance arrived several minutes later and emergency technicians began to administer first aid to the pregnant woman. They were very careful not to move her until they were sure they would not injure her any further. They were finally able to stabilize her and remove her from the store on a backboard. She was transported to the hospital, along with her children, by ambulance.

Pregnant mother of two rushed to the hospital after slip and fall

Upon her arrival at the hospital, emergency room physicians took over for the first responders and rushed the woman inside the hospital. The main concern of hospital staff at that point was to ensure that our client’s unborn baby had not been harmed in the fall. After several hours of emergency care, it appeared that our client and her unborn child were stable and that no harm has been done to the fetus. Our client, however, was in an extreme amount of pain as a result of her fall. She was discharged from the hospital with instructions to seek follow-up care with an orthopedist.

Pregnant slip and fall victim hires Dell and Schaefer

The day after her slip and fall, our client realized that not only was her pain not subsiding but it was getting worse. Hurt and confused as to her options, she called the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer. Our lawyers immediately placed the grocery store on notice of our client’s claim and requested the surveillance video of her fall. Our client scheduled an appointment with a board certified orthopedic surgeon. During her first visit, the orthopedist felt it was necessary to prescribe an MRI of our client’s lumbar spine (lower back). The results of the MRI were not good. They revealed that our client suffered a disk herniation of the lowest level of her lumbar spine. The surgeon was of the opinion that she would require surgical intervention to alleviate her painful symptoms but could not perform such a procedure due to the fact that our client was pregnant.

Typically, the doctor would have recommended a pain relieving injection as well but because of her pregnancy, this was not an option either. Instead, the doctor could only recommend the most conservative approach. He prescribed our client a course of physical therapy.

24 year-old slip and fall victim settles her claim against popular South Florida grocery chain

After months of physical therapy, our client noticed a marked change in her level of pain. Many of her painful symptoms had gone away and though she experienced pain in her lower back every day, the pain was nowhere near the initial pain of the fall. Though the insurance company for the grocery chain initially denied any liability, they soon changed their position when faced with the prospect of being sued by a pregnant mother of two who was clearly not at fault for her fall. The insurance company eventually offered a settlement which enabled payment of our client’s medical bills. She was also able to be compensated for her pain and suffering as well and medical bills and pain and suffering which would occur in the future. Our client gave birth to a healthy baby girl several months before her settlement. Though she was pleased with her settlement, she stated that all she really cared about was the health of her unborn child. She was very happy to learn that her baby girl had not been affected by the fall in any way. That news was enough to make our client extremely happy.