Slip, fall at a hotel results in $1.25M settlement

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During the summer of 2016 the plaintiff and her husband traveled to the Charleston area and stayed at a second-story hotel room with outdoor entry. When leaving the next morning, the couple was walking down the stairs to get to their car when the plaintiff slipped on wet stairs and fell to the ground.

According to the plaintiff’s counsel, Fatima Zeidan, the plaintiff sustained a lower back injury, a torn rotator cuff, and a partially torn meniscus. As a resulting of the fall, the plaintiff underwent a total of five surgeries, and medical expenses totaling around $400,000 at the time of mediation.

A pre-suit demand was sent demanding the hotel’s insurance policy limit of $1 million, which was denied by the defense. After a suit was filed, liability was contested and the hotel staff testified that they did not know where the water on the stairs came from, had never seen water on the stairs and that they had no notice of the water prior to this incident, Zeidan reported.

The plaintiff’s counsel obtained certified weather reports to dispel any notion that the water was a weather related event. According to Zeidan, she eventually tracked down a former maintenance personnel who admitted that it was part of his daily routine to hose down the exterior hallways and breezeways in the early mornings, clarifying where the water originated. A month prior to a second mediation, and after several years of litigation, a $5 million umbrella policy was also disclosed, Zeidan reported.

This case was resolved at the second mediation for $1.25 million.

Is this a verdict or a settlement? Settlement  
Type of case: Slip and fall/premises liability
Amount: $1.25 million
Injuries alleged: Torn rotator cuff, meniscus tear, L4-5 laminectomy
Case name: Confidential
Court: Confidential
Case No.: Confidential
Judge: Settled in Mediation
Date of settlement: October 2022
Demand: Initial Demand was for $1 million, offer was $0. First mediation failed. A second mediation was held 10 months later where the case was resolved for $1.25 million. Weeks before the first mediation, an excess umbrella policy was disclosed.
Highest offer: $0 prior to mediation
Special damages: $350,000
Insurance carrier: Confidential
Attorney(s) for plaintiff and their firm(s): Fatima Zeidan, The Eichholz Law Firm, P.C.
Attorney(s) for defendant and their firm(s): Confidential
Was the opposing represented by counsel? Yes
Were liability and/or damages contested? Yes
Has the judgment been successfully collected? Yes