News - Tharpe & Howell - Litigation and Transaction Lawyers

FIRM DAYCARE CLIENT TO PAY PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR

Aggressive case handling by seasoned trial attorney and Firm Partner Byron Ames has resulted in a significantly reduced award against a Firm daycare owner/client.

In this case, plaintiff demanded more than $150,000 from the Firm's daycare owner/client after she slipped on ice on the walkway in the front of the client's home-based business after dropping her child off.

As a result of the fall, plaintiff sustained a comminuted fracture of wrist (i.e. shattered bones) which required surgery for insertion of plate and screws to put her wrist back together. Plaintiff alleged that the Firm's client negligently created the dangerous condition by knowingly allowing her sprinklers to run at midnight with knowledge that the sprinklers over-sprayed the lawn area and could potentially create an icy condition on the walkway. Plaintiff claimed the Firm's daycare client, as a business owner, had a duty to inspect her property for unsafe conditions and, under theories of both negligence and res ipsa loquitor, failed to discover the ice and warn plaintiff or otherwise prevent her from walking over the dangerous condition.

In response to these allegations, Firm litigator Byron Ames presented the Jury with solid defenses on behalf of the daycare client, including plaintiff's contributory negligence for not keeping a proper look-out and not avoiding the ice after previously walking past it on the way in. Attorney Ames also argued that plaintiff failed to mitigate her damages by neglecting to follow the repeated instructions of her treating physicians and physical therapists to perform home exercises with her hand. Attorney Ames argued that, as a result of plaintiff's failure to follow the instructions of her physicians, her damages were worse than what they would have been had she diligently followed her doctors' advice.

Although the Firm's daycare client offered a $30,000 settlement to defendant if accepted up to and including the day of trial, plaintiff refused and instead proceeded to trial and demanded that the Jury award special and general damages in excess of $150,000.

In the end, the Jury determined plaintiff's damages were only $13,167 (the amount of plaintiff's medical specials) and, to make matters even better, reduced that amount by a full 35% due to her own contributory negligence. This made the Jury's net award to plaintiff only $8,558 - or $142,000 less than plaintiff's trial demand!

If you need an aggressive litigator on your side, contact Mr. Ames for a free consultation at (702) 562-3301.

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Related Attorney(s):
Byron L. Ames - Nevada
Byron L. Ames - Utah

Related Practice Area(s):
Business and Intellectual Property Law
General Litigation
Real Estate and Construction Law