LA jury awards $12.2M for slip and fall brain injury

A Los Angeles County jury awarded $12.2 million on Thursday to a slip and fall victim who suffered a traumatic brain injury at work.

“I’m tremendously proud of the fact that the jury saw Jessica Vu as she was, and how an injury like this requires such a high compensation. There was a temptation to discount what she was going through and downplay it, but the jury saw through it,” the Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP plaintiff’s attorney, Alan L. VanGelder, said in an interview Friday.

Vu worked as a counselor to children with autism. While leaving her office after a carpet cleaning, she slipped and fell down six concrete steps off an Epoxy coated landing. Jessica Vu v. 2447 Pacific coast Highway LLC et al., BC650966 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 17 2017).

The verdict valued past loss of earnings at $93,147, past noneconomic damages including physical pain and mental suffering at $1.5 million, future economic medical expenses at $418,494, and future loss of earnings at $1.7 million, with future noneconomic damages including physical pain and mental suffering at $8.5 million.

The jury determined that the injury was caused by the carpet cleaners, building owner and property management company’s negligence.

The case was presided over by Los Angeles County Judge Frederick C. Shaller.

Cheryl A. Kirkpatrick of Horton, Oberrecht & Kirkpatrick represented the contractor, The Palos Co. Inc., which settled before the trial for $200,000.

Defendant DFS Flooring Inc. was represented by Thomas P. Gmelich and Lena J. Marderosian of Bradley, Gmelich & Wellerstein LLP. Building owner Mar Ventures was represented by Lisa N. Shyer and Veronica S. Webb of Procter, Shyer & Winter. They were unavailable for comment.

VanGelder’s co-counsel was Aaron L. Osten.

“When you have an injury like this, it affects your ability to work, to live and to develop long term projects. There were easy things the defendants could have done. They should have properly had their landing so it wasn’t slippery,” VanGelder said.