G. Jeffrey Vernis and Natasha Coyle (N. Palm Beach, FL)(Premises Liability) tried the case of Passarelli v. The Cheesecake Factory in Palm Beach County, Florida from July 22-26, 2024 and beat the proposal for settlement filed almost 2 years earlier. This negligence claim involved an incident where the Plaintiff fell after an employee moved a chair 3 seconds before the Plaintiff attempted to sit in it. The Plaintiff claimed to have sustained a significant low back injury, had several epidural steroid injections and ultimately underwent a two-level spinal fusion. While the Plaintiff did have some prior minor low back complaints, she did not have any significant low back medical history, treatment or surgical recommendation. The Plaintiff incurred over $245,000 in past medical expenses and her doctor testified that she would need future medical treatment including an additional low back surgery. The Plaintiff asked the jury for over $1,015,000. The defense contended that the plaintiff was herself at fault for her fall and that she had longstanding preexisting conditions, and that the medical treatment was unrelated to the fall.
After the five-day jury trial, the jury returned a verdict finding the Plaintiff 75% at fault and awarding her $92,500, less than 10% of what Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award and less than the proposal for settlement offered by the Defendant almost two years earlier. Post-trial motions are pending.