Case at a glance
- Result: $368,000 Jury Verdict, reduced by a $22,000 credit
- Practice: Personal Injury
- Attorney: Brian Beckcom
A fall in the restaurant kitchen
Debra S. slipped and fell while working in the kitchen of a Houston Popeye’s restaurant on July 28, 2004. She reported a lower-back injury and began treatment with company doctors.
Debra’s employer, Southpoint Consolidated LP, operated the restaurant. Brian pursued her claim that Southpoint had failed to provide safe workplace conditions. The case focused on loose floor tiles and a possible grease-and-water spill.
The company disputed responsibility for the floor
City of Houston health inspectors had identified defective floor tiles before Debra fell. Brian argued that Southpoint knew about the condition and had failed to correct it. He also argued that another employee should have cleaned the possible spill.
Southpoint argued that Debra’s assistant-manager role made her responsible for the restaurant’s condition and for employee work and training. The company disputed whether she had fallen near the loose tiles and whether repairs had preceded the fall.
Those competing accounts put the condition of the kitchen and the company’s response at the center of Brian’s negligence case.
Doctors disagreed about her lower-back injury
After two months of physical therapy, a doctor recommended fusion surgery at two levels of Debra’s lumbar spine. He testified by video deposition that both the fall and her degenerative back condition contributed to the need for surgery.
A pain-management doctor attributed her problems entirely to preexisting conditions and found her capable of light-duty work. Southpoint later refused further medical treatment. The company also disputed the extent of her limitations and pointed to earlier workplace injury claims.
Debra remained off work for more than two years. The trial required the jury to consider both the workplace evidence and the competing medical opinions.
The jury’s award and the $22,000 credit
The jury found Southpoint negligent and awarded Debra $368,000. A $22,000 credit for an earlier benefit payment reduced the award.
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Case questions
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