Plaintiff Awarded $1.25 Million Verdict in Fractured Back Case Following Stairwell Fall
Philadelphia, PA — In a recent verdict, the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas awarded plaintiff Paul Nye $1.25 million in a case involving a fractured back sustained after a fall from a stairwell. The case, titled Paul Nye v. Joshua Angotti, Kara Angotti, Shane Alikakos v. XPO Logistics and Tiger Trans Inc., concluded on May 13, 2022, under the jurisdiction of Judge Angelo Foglietta.
The incident occurred on August 31, 2018, when Paul Nye, a 62-year-old business owner, fell from the third floor to the second floor of a Philadelphia apartment building located on 13th Street. Nye suffered a serious back fracture as a result of the fall. At the time of the accident, the apartment building was owned by Joshua Angotti and Kara Angotti, with contractor Shane Alikakos overseeing renovations on the second and third floors. During the accident, Tiger Trans Inc. was delivering kitchen materials to the third floor.
Represented by attorneys John F. Rooney V. of Rooney Philly Lawyer and Christopher J. Heavens of Heavens Law, Nye alleged negligence on the part of the property owners for failing to address a dangerous condition and not providing proper warnings. Nye also claimed that Alikakos was negligent in maintaining a safe working environment and securing the open stairwell hole.
The case also involved third-party defendants Tiger Trans Inc. and XPO Logistics. XPO Logistics was dismissed from the lawsuit prior to trial.
Expert testimony during the trial highlighted that Alikakos had violated Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations by not properly barricading the open stairwell hole, as required. Despite Alikakos’ claims that he had used makeshift measures to cover the hole, evidence presented by Nye and the Tiger Trans worker contradicted this assertion
After careful deliberation, the jury found Alikakos 80 percent liable and the Angottis 20 percent liable for the incident. Nye was deemed negligent, but his negligence was not determined to be a direct cause of his injury. Tiger Trans was found to have no negligence. As a result, Paul Nye was awarded $1.25 million in damages.
The awarded compensation includes $350,000 for past and future pain and suffering, $400,000 for past and future loss of enjoyment of life, $500,000 for future medical expenses, and a total award of $1.25 million and is one of the top 50 verdicts in the state of Pennsylvania in 2022.
The case details and verdict were finalized after a five-day trial, during which expert witnesses were presented by both the plaintiff and the defendants. The verdict was reached without any monetary compensation from defendant insurers, and the plaintiff agreed to waive delay damages in return for the defendants’ acceptance of the jury’s allocation of fault.
