Mrs. R was shopping at ToysRUs looking for a model horse for her daughter's horse collection. A store employee, on a ladder in the adjacent aisle, accidently pushed a dollhouse off the upper storage shelf.
The dollhouse hit Mrs. R on the head. Mrs. R suffered a cervical sprain and the aggravation of a protruding disc. She was referred to an orthopedist and attended physical therapy. Her medical bills totaled $2900.00. Her orthopedist said she was left with a 3% permanent partial impairment to her neck. Incredibly, ToysRUs only offered $500 to settle the claim.
Attorney Albert D'Antonio of the Haymond Law Firm sprang into action. He brought suit against ToysRUs and obtained a copy of the store manager's report that identified the brand of dollhouse that had fallen on Mrs. R's head. Unfortunately, that brand of dollhouse was no longer manufactured and was not available in any store.
Undeterred, Attorney D'Antonio searched neighborhood tag sales until he found and purchased the proper model. He then took depositions of representatives from the manufacturing headquarters in Rhode Island to authenticate the dollhouse and its size and weight.
ToysRUs increased its settlement offer to $5,000 at the pretrial conference and later to $10,000 on the courthouse steps. Attorney D'Antonio carried the large dollhouse into court and introduced it as an exhibit at the trial. A verdict of $27,000 was rendered.
*Some names and details have been changed to protect confidentiality. While we can't guarantee the same results; we can assure you the same effort.