A vacationer settled for $1.15 million after suffering injuries from a fall at a vacation home.
In April of 2020, Plaintiffs rented a beach front home on Folly Beach, S.C. for a family vacation. While descending the stairs from the house to the raised walkway, the plaintiff fell forward down the stairs, and into a section of safety railing. However, according to plaintiff’s council, Samuel R. Clawson Jr., rather than protecting plaintiff from falling from the walkway, an entire 6-foot, 9-inch-long section of the lower rail and most of the pickets attached to that rail section broke free from the rail posts. As a result, plaintiff fell to the ground some 10 to 12 feet below the walkway and suffered a burst fracture of his T12 vertebrae that required surgical repair involving a five-level spinal fusion.
The beach house was owned by Jack and Sharon Smoke and managed by Fred Holland Realty.
Plaintiff’s expert engineer, John Phillips, determined that the property had numerous deficiencies in the form of maintenance and building code violations, Clawson reported. The stairway between the house and the elevated walkway had several conditions that made it unsafe, each of which could have caused or contributed to a fall. The elevated walkway rail was in a deteriorated condition and was structurally unsound due to corroded nails, which caused it to fail when contacted by the Plaintiff. The stairs and elevated walkway, including the rail, were in violation of multiple codes, did not provide their intended function.
“Property owners, especially vacation rental property owners and the property management companies who operate these rentals, have a duty to use reasonable care to prevent renters from suffering bodily injury by discovering foreseeable unreasonable risks and taking safety precautions to warn of or eliminate them,” Clawson said. “Here, the stairs and boardwalk were in an obvious state of disrepair, with visibly rusted fasteners and brittle wood. It was not a question of if, but rather when, a renter was going to be injured at this property.”
The case was mediated by Bo Wilson following the completion of party depositions for $1,150,000. Of this amount, $300,000 was paid by American Strategic Insurance and $650,000 by Allstate on behalf of Jack Smoke and Sharon Smoke; and $200,000 by Auto Owners on behalf of Fred Holland Realty.
Type of Action: Premises Liability
Injuries Alleged: Burst fracture of vertebra in lumbar spine
Name of Case: Christopher Gillett and Leela Oblichetti v. Jack A. Smoke, Sharon D. Smoke, and Fred Holland Realty
Court: Charleston County Court of Common Pleas
Judge or Mediator: Mediator Bo Wilson
Special Damages: Medical bills of approximately $157,000
Verdict or Settlement: Settlement $1,150,000
Date of Verdict or Settlement: July 29, 2022
Most Helpful Experts: John Phillips (engineer)
Attorneys for Plaintiffs: Samuel R. Clawson Jr. and Christy R. Fargnoli of Clawson Fargnoli Utsey, LLC in Charleston and Nick Thomas of the Law Offices of Nick Thomas, LLC in Folly Beach
Attorneys for Defendants: Confidential
Were Liability and Damages Contested: Yes
The post Vacationer awarded $1.15M in settlement after fall at home 
first appeared on South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.