Attorneys obtained a defense verdict after a 4 days trial in a case involving a trip and fall over a crowd control device (stanchions and velvet ropes defining the VIP bottle room at an upscale bar).

Attorneys obtained a defense verdict after a 4 days trial in a case involving a trip and fall over a crowd control device (stanchions and velvet ropes defining the VIP bottle room at an upscale bar). On liability, the defense presented that there was no negligence, the hazard was open and obvious, and that the Plaintiff was intoxicated and was more than 50 percent at fault for her own injuries as a result of the intoxication which would bar her claim by statute. The Plaintiff argued that the low hanging ropes between the stanchions were negligent, particularly in a bar. On damages, the Plaintiff, a 52 year old female had a preexisting cervical fusion and had low back degeneration. She hit her head in the fall and claimed temporary paralysis, was hospitalized in the ICU for 5 days, and underwent lumbar injections and a "RF faucet abulation" at L5/S1. The defense argued that the injuries sustained in the fall were at best a temporary aggravation of preexisting condition and that surgery was not properly recommended. The jury was out for 2 hours and returned a defense verdict of no negligence on the part of the Defendant.