Slip and Fall Occurring in Symphony Hall Results in Personal Injury Lawsuit, Part 1 of 2

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a personal injury case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this slip and fall lawsuit and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Leana was taken via ambulance to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with fractures to her facial bones, a sprained left wrist and post-concussion syndrome.

Facts:

On Jan. 22, 2006, plaintiff Natasha Leana, 77, a retired otolaryngologist, was looking for her seat in the darkened second tier at a San Francisco Symphony facility. She tripped, pitched forward, and fell, tumbling down several steps and landing on her face.

Her husband, plaintiff Ernie Leana, 77, a retired family physician, was present at the time.

The day before her fall at the symphony, Leana was in a car accident in which she sustained a mild concussion and soft-tissue injuries to her neck and shoulder.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.


Leanas sued the city and county of San Francisco, the symphony and Golden State Carpet Service Inc., alleging that that the second-tier stairs had dangerous conditions.

Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed that the dangerous conditions included a very steep second tier, a deficient railing system and improperly placed nose striping (visual cues) on the stairs.

Leanas also asserted that the view from the second tier down to the stage was visually disturbing and disorienting, that the stair size was too steep by half an inch, that the run of the stairs was 10 inches, even though the building code requires it to be 11 inches, and that the stairs were not uniform.

The plaintiffs claimed that the symphony had previous notice of the dangerous conditions, including complaint letters sent by previous visitors and a 2002.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.