West Palm Beach Pedestrian Obtains $300,000.00 After Hiring Dell and Schaefer


The victim, a 39 year old divorced mother of two and immigrant from Mexico, was walking down the sidewalk in West Palm Beach, Florida. As she walked past a neighbor’s yard, the neighbor invited the client onto the property. While the client was standing in the property talking with the neighbor, a gust of wind suddenly blew by causing a tree to snap and fall down. The tree struck the victim on the back causing her to fall to the ground. The impact of the tree striking the victim caused a fracture to the cervical vertebrae. Fortunately for the client, the fracture did not cause any injury to her spinal cord and she did not suffer any paralysis. After the impact, our client was rushed to the hospital where she was placed in an immobile back, neck, and head brace. Our client was unable to remove the brace for a period of three months and was forced to eat and shower while wearing the brace.

The Victim Contacts the West Palm Beach Accident Attorneys Dell and Schaefer

Immediately after checking into the hospital, the victim contacted the West Palm Beach Accident Attorneys Dell and Schaefer. Our firm quickly hired a private investigator and a certified arborist who inspected the tree and determined that the tree broke due to years of deterioration. Our firm filed an action against the homeowner for premises liability as well as negligently maintaining her property, negligently failing to inspect the trees on her property to be sure they were not rotting and deteriorating, and negligently failing to warn of dangers on the premises for which the owner knew or should have known.

Dell and Schaefer Negotiates a Settlement With The Insurance Company

Within three months of our client suffering her injury, the negotiations began with the insurance company. Our firm sought monetary damages for bodily injury, aggravation of a preexisting injury, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, disability, mental anguish, past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and impairment of ability to earn future wages. At first the insurance company denied the claim alleging that our client suffered an injury due to the gust of wind. They argued that because the gust of wind caused the tree to fall, that their client was not responsible under the Act of God exception to liability. Our firm remained steadfast and presented the evidence gathered by our private investigator. Specifically, our firm used the photographs taken by the investigator which demonstrated heavy rotting and deterioration to the tree. The types of rotting and deterioration to the tree could not have resulted overnight and could have only been a result of several years. Since the deterioration continued for years without the homeowner maintaining the tree, removing the tree, or warning invitees of the dangerous tree, our firm proved that the homeowner was the responsible party.

After our presentation of evidence, the insurance company changed their minds and paid out the policy limits of $300,000.00! Our client was absolutely thrilled that our firm was able to settle the claim for a life changing amount of $300,000.00 within three months of her injuries!



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