$1.7 M Sought | Morgan and Morgan | Jury Returned a complete Defense Verdict | Slip and Fall | Orange County.
On January 19, 2024, Managing Partner Tony Petrillo and Senior Partner Jeff Benson obtained a complete defense verdict in a premises liability matter styled Plaintiff 52 Year Old Landscaper v. Defendant Retail Store in Orange County, Florida. The Plaintiff claimed he slipped and fell as he was walking out of the Defendant's store due to accumulated water from an employee’s unauthorized use of a watering hose. The Plaintiff subsequently had a two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at C3-4 and C4-5. His orthopedic surgeon testified he would need another neck surgery due to adjacent level disc disease that would cost $75,000.00 and a separate low back surgery in the future that would cost $100,000.00. Plaintiff started trial claiming over $400,000.00 in past medical bills but ended trial conceding to $165,000.00 in past medical bills due to the defense proving that was the true reasonable and necessary value. The Defendant avoided any spoliation jury instruction because Plaintiff failed to prove that a duty to preserve surveillance video existed, even though a generic preservation letter was sent 18 days after the alleged incident. During closing arguments Plaintiff demanded $1.7 million. The jury returned a verdict finding no negligence. Read More.
