$197,500 Settlement for Broken Arm from Slip and Fall at Hotel

Plate and screws in humerus (upper arm bone) — Actual x-ray from the claim

A lady made a negligence claim against Travelers Insurance Company (“Travelers”), who insured a Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Pensacola, Florida.

The case settled for $197,500, several months after we sent a thorough settlement demand package to Travelers Insurance Company. The case settled without a lawsuit being filed.

Date of Accident: August 2, 2013

Age, Sex, Occupation of Claimant: Unit Clerk. VA Hospital.

Cause of Injury

A hotel guest suffered a severe traumatic arm injury when she fell after she stepped into a bathtub that she claimed did not have an anti-slip texture designed to prevent guests from falling.

Liability

I told the hotel’s insurance company that the hotel was 100% at fault. On the date of the incident, the guest had just checked in at the Courtyard Marriott in Downtown Pensacola.

She had planned her vacation in advance along with two other couples to celebrate their wedding anniversaries. The wives would also accompany their husbands to a preaching assignment event for pastors taking place in the city.

She was celebrating a wedding anniversary after being married for many years. She claimed that on that night, she had finished unpacking and was about to take a shower to get ready for dinner.

As she stepped into the tub her foot suddenly slipped causing her body to spin and strike the hard surface of the tub. In a failed attempt to break the fall, she tried reaching for the handrail, but was unable to stop from falling.

She claimed that the tub surface was very smooth and as slippery as ice. The tub did not have an anti-slip surface or mat to prevent her from slipping.

She fell hard and was immediately in a lot of pain. She could not move her arm. Just minutes before, her husband had gone to the lobby.

She was alone, and began panicking and started screaming out for help. Her hope was that someone passing by her door would hear her and come to her aid.

No help came for another 45 minutes, until a security guard heard her cries. He called the front desk.

Her husband also returned to the room and tried in vain to help her up, but he claimed that the tub surface was too slippery. She could not move.

An ambulance took her to the hospital.

She Fractured Her Arm

As you can see from the x-ray image above, she had a serious upper arm bone (humerus) fracture.

She had a plate and screws inserted into her arm.

Her physical therapist notes that Helen’s range of motion was severely limited on her shoulder and other body parts.

She also claimed that the fall aggravated her pre-existing shoulder injury.

An orthopedic doctor examined her about 5 months after the fall. She was experiencing stiffness and pain in her right shoulder, which limited her day-to-day activities.

In addition, she had trouble sleeping at night and the pain was aggravated by movement.

She Had Pre-Existing Arthritis in Her Shoulder

Although she already had arthritis in her shoulder, she said it never bothered her to the same extent as it did after her fall.

The exam of her shoulder showed diffuse tenderness along the glenohumeral capsule with reduced range of motion. X-rays showed calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff.

The orthopedic doctor diagnosed her with adhesive capsulitis of the right shoulder and gave her a steroid injection.

She Has a Manipulation Under Anesthesia

About 7 months after her fall, she had a right shoulder manipulation under anesthesia (“MUA”) and intra-articular corticosteroid injection of the right shoulder joint.

Her orthopedic doctor noted that despite extensive therapy, activity modification and corticosteroid injections, her mobility had not improved, she was limited in her activities and had persistent right shoulder pain with stiffness.

Ten months after her fall, her physical therapist noted that she still had a feeling of stiffness in her shoulder.