On the afternoon of December 19, 2004, Mabel hopped on the retirement home bus with some of her friends and went to a community theater for a holiday show. She had never been to this theater before. Once you enter the theater, there are two aisles leading to the patron seating area. Mabel entered the patron seating area by way of the aisle on the left side of the stage.
As you can see from the photo above, the subject aisle dead-ends with a 5-inch-high raised edge of the stage platform. At the time that Mabel entered the aisle, the lighting level was near total darkness, and, while rope lighting is used to illuminate the lateral edges of the aisle-way, none was applied to the front edge of the stage.
To make matters worse, unlike in the above photo, the entire stage (including the front edge and top surface) was painted black, further concealing the step from Mabel’s view. Several eye witnesses testified that the front edge of the stage was impossible for Mabel to see.
As Mabel proceeded down the aisle to her seat, her foot struck the concealed front-edge of the stage and she fell upon the stage surface, striking her knees, right arm, shoulder and chin. Mabel felt immediate and excruciating pain. She would later learn that she had fractured her upper arm (the humerus) into several pieces.
Mabel was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where she underwent surgery to install a plate and 9 screws in her shoulder. Mabel spent Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day in the hospital. Months later Mabel had to have a second surgery to remove the plate and screws. In the end, her medical expenses totaled almost $60,000. Despite her valiant efforts at recovery, Mabel has been permanently impacted by her injuries. Ever since the accident, she has had difficulty bathing and dressing herself, applying her own makeup, fixing her hair, cooking for herself or fully engaging in her pre-incident pastimes such as water-aerobics and Thai Chi exercise classes.
Any number of simple and inexpensive measures might have avoided this trip and fall. There were no stanchions with velvet ropes to prevent patrons such as Mabel from tripping over the stage edge. There were no ushers with flashlights to assist her in navigating this concealed obstacle between her and her seat. And there were no signs warning her to “Watch Your Step.”
Mabel came to Mr. Render Freeman for help shortly after her first surgery. After an extensive investigation, pre-suit settlement negotiations were attempted, but the insurance company refused to negotiate fairly, blaming Mabel for the fall. Mabel was left with no alternative but to file suit in State Court. After two years of hard fought litigation, the insurance company finally agreed to settle the case for $190,000.
Mabel was very pleased with the outcome. The money didn’t change her physical limitations, but it reassured her that this fall was not her fault. It also allowed her the joy of making a substantial donation to her church and of buying a car for her grandson.
