On May 30, 2023, Feldman, Kleidman, Collins & Sappe LLP’s (FKC&S) 77-year-old client and her husband (from Poughkeepsie, NY), walked into a local liquor store to buy wine. Unbeknownst to them, the store had a policy of bringing out 12 to 15 boxes of merchandise in the morning and placing them in aisles throughout the store, to be shelved as the day progressed.
FKC&S’s client’s husband walked in first, and he saw and avoided a box. His wife was behind him, and her attention was diverted to her left by a store employee greeting her. She didn’t see the box and fell, shattering numerous wine bottles nearby. She suffered a left kneecap fracture and a right arm fracture, which required surgery and hardware for her arm.
The defense argued that she should have seen the box. The case was placed into suit and during depositions, the manager of the store admitted that leaving boxes in the aisle was potentially dangerous, as the eyes of the patrons are drawn upward to look at the products the store is selling, not down towards the floor. The case was mediated, and Steven H. Cohen ultimately obtained a $225,000 settlement for FKC&S’s client.