Columbia law clerk gets $750,000 settlement for bad fall on slippery court steps
COLUMBIA, SC -- A law clerk to a Columbia federal bankruptcy judge has received a settlement of $750,000 for injuries he suffered in a 2013 fall down courthouse steps inside the U.S. Bankruptcy Court building in downtown Columbia.
The settlement between law clerk Patrick Mohan, 35, and Crockett Facilities Services, came on the second day of a federal civil jury trial before U.S. Judge Bryan Harwell.
In a lawsuit, Mohan had alleged that Crockett, the Maryland company in charge of maintaining the bankruptcy court building on Laurel Street, not only had removed slip-resistant foot safety strips from the interior stone steps, but its workers had applied wax or polish to the steps, allowing them “to remain in an unreasonable, dangerous and slippery condition.”
Crockett ultimately admitted responsibility in the matter, and the trial was to determine the amount of any damages it had to pay. Mohan suffered a herniated disk and had $40,000 in medical bills, along with pains expected to last a lifetime, said his lawer, Robert Goings, who tried the case with Jessica Gooding.
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article150258567.html