SETTLEMENT : Plaintiff fell in hotel shower
During an overnight layover, a 43-year-old commercial pilot was taking a shower at a local hotel when the grab bar suddenly came loose from the wall. The bar fell down and struck the pilot violently on the head.
The pilot was rushed to the local emergency hostel where he underwent a number of x-rays, CT scans, and electroencephalograms. These and future tests were negative but the pilot reported injuries including memory losses, severe headaches, and an inability to safely fly and operate commercial airplanes in the future.
The pilot hired Lawrence R. Booth of the Law Offices of Booth & Koskoff to represent him in a premises liability lawsuit against the hospital.
In response to the suit, defense attorneys representing the hotel initially claimed that the accident was impossible as they had no previous incidents, reports, or similar problems associated with the shower grab bars. They likewise speculated that the plaintiff knew that the small airline with whom he worked was on the verge of bankruptcy and that the pilot either had fabricated the accident or exaggerated his symptoms as he knew he was facing extreme difficulty in getting future employment due to this impending bankruptcy, irrespective of the accident.
Our firm ultimately secured an out-of-court settlement on behalf of our client with the hotel agreeing to pay out $1,250,000 to cover the pilot’s medical injuries and loss of income.