Posted in on December 10, 2015
$1,010,000.00 Settlement For Man Struck by Falling Box in Tool Store
Attorney Howard Alan Kitay obtained a $1,010,000.00 settlement for a 41 year-old man who was struck by a falling box while shopping in a tool store in east San Diego.
The owner of the east San Diego tool store claimed that plaintiff assumed the risk of injury when plaintiff went to the aid of a store employee who lost his balance on a ladder. The store employee was attempting to remove a heavy box from a high shelf when he began to lose his balance. Seeing that the employee was in danger of falling, the plaintiff rushed over to steady the ladder. The plaintiff steadied the ladder and saved the employee from falling, but the heavy box fell on the plaintiff’s neck. The plaintiff sustained a head and neck injury in the accident.
The tool store argued that nobody asked the plaintiff for help, and, therefore, the plaintiff assumed the risk of the injury that resulted. The tool store refused to offer any money to settle the claim.
Howard Alan Kitay filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court, East County Division, and demanded $1,010,000.00 to settle the claim. In preparing for trial, Mr. Kitay deposed every person in the store at the time, and proved that the employee on the ladder called out for help and plaintiff was the only person close enough to help him. The tool store then offered $500,000.00 to settle the claim. The $500,000.00 settlement offer was rejected.
Less than thirty days before trial, the tool store settled plaintiff’s case for $1,010,000.00.
The plaintiff sustained a bruise to his brain. Although he was at risk for seizures for a period of time after the accident, he made an excellent recovery, and eventually returned to full activity.