Summary – The plaintiff, a fifty-four-year-old female amputee, was involved in a trip and fall. Plaintiff was a smoker but did not drink. Plaintiff had medical history of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, prior rotator cuff tears, as well as cardiomyopathy. The plaintiff’s son was holding the door at a restaurant. The plaintiff was using her crutches. Her crutch went down into a manmade whole for a gutter downspout and client fell down.
As a result of her fall, the Plaintiff suffered serious injuries to her left arm and shoulder including, but not limited to, a complete rotator cuff tear. As a result of these injuries, Plaintiff underwent extensive treatment, including but not limited to, left rotator cuff surgical repair. The evidence showed that the treatment received for said injuries were causally related to the Plaintiff’s alleged incident and was reasonable and necessary. Further, the bills for said treatment were reasonable and necessary.
Additionally, the fall caused a significant weakening of Plaintiff’s shoulder, which is vitally important to her mobility as an amputee and has, and will continue to have, significant negative effects on her already restricted ability to perform activities of daily living. Examination of the left shoulder demonstrated approximately 130 degrees of active forward elevation limited by pain. Plaintiff had 90 degrees of abduction and 45 degrees of external rotation. X-rays demonstrated several metallic anchors in the humeral head from prior rotator cuff repair.
