Posts Archive: Personal Injury

Meshbesher & Spence partner Gus Nicklow was able to secure a very sizable dog-bite settlement for a client who was bit in the face by a dog.

Derek Represented the heirs and next of kin of a client who tripped on a crack in a very poorly maintained parking lot. The fall caused the 83-year-old client to break her hip, unfortunately she succumbed to her injuries and tragically passed away. The parking lot was leased and both the owner and the tenant feverously denied liability. Derek brought a lawsuit against both defendants and brought in a parking lot expert to offer an opinion as to the safety of the lot. The case settled at mediation, but more importantly to the family of the client the parking lot was re-poured over the portion where the client had fallen. This case was especially rewarding because it led to a safety change that will protect others in the future.

Rachel’s client fell on negligently constructed outdoor stairway leading to a dog grooming shop. Rachel was able to show that the stairs were dangerous and in violation of building codes as they were built with different height risers which caused an uneven experience for her client when using the stairs to leave the shop. To add to these issues, these “funhouse” stairs did not have a necessary handrail, which made it so that when her client started to lose her balance, there was nothing to reach out and grab to save her from tumbling and breaking her ankle. A confidential settlement was reached to compensate her client for her injury, resulting in pain and disability as well as a second surgery to remove surgical hardware.

Rachel represented a client who was injured on school district property when roof drains caused a large pool of thick dangerous ice to form over the only walking path. Her client fell, resulting in a complex ankle fracture. Rachel was able to show that the school district knew about the drainage issue for several years and yet they failed to correct the problem. A confidential settlement was reached to compensate her client for her injury, resulting in pain and disability as well as a second surgery to remove surgical hardware.

Rachel pursued a mistaken driver identity case which resulted in both physical injuries from the crash as well as reputational harm due to false criminal charges. In this unique claim, Rachel’s client (who was a passenger) was wrongfully accused of being the drunk driver by the actual drunk driver after a major single vehicle crash. Due to the client’s head injury, she was unable to remember the crash, and police mistakenly charged her with a DWI. Investigation revealed independent witnesses who correctly identified the true driver and Rachel brought both personal injury and defamation claims against the true driver of the vehicle. Rachel kept the pressure on by making a motion to the Court to amend the Complaint to add punitive damages due to the damage to the client’s reputation. The case was resolved with a confidential settlement before trial.

Rachel successfully represented an elderly woman who was knocked down by another shopper at the top of an escalator, suffering horrible injuries to her leg when the escalator continued to run after she fell to the bottom. Rachel pursued coverage through the other shopper’s personal homeowners’ insurance for the shopper’s negligence in not holding onto the handrail when using the escalator, ultimately reaching a confidential pre-trial settlement.

Streed represented a hair salon stylist who slipped on an accumulation of glare ice outside the building where she worked.  Her ankle bones were shattered and dislocated and the surgery to repair the many fractures was very complicated.  She was unable to return to work for nearly a full year. 

As a favor to a friend, a man agreed to paint some of the rooms inside the friend’s home. The friend and his wife provided the materials, including a ladder. While the man was using the ladder, it suddenly collapsed and “scissored” his ankle in such a way that it broke all the ankle bones and nearly severed the foot…

Mr. Streed’s client was responding to a family’s request that he service/fix their AC unit during a heat wave. The service technician responded quickly as he knew the family has several young children and some elderly family members, all of whom were suffering from the stifling temperatures. The homeowner did not communicate to other family members that the technician was to arrive within the hour. The tech, who was familiar with the home, but who had no idea the family had pit bulls, was savagely attacked as he stepped outside to finish working on the AC unit….

A 67-year-old’s leg was amputated after being hit by a school bus. Aggressive, early investigation and effective use of the bus company’s own business records as key evidence, helped Mark Streed’s client achieve an award well in excess of $1M from the bus company for its negligent training/supervision and for the negligence of its bus driver.