Caption: Daryla L. Stoltz Maxwell and Mark A. Maxwell v. Evansville Roadhouse, LLC
Court: Vanderburgh Superior Court
Cause Number: Cause No. 82D03-0404-CT-1786
Judge: J. Douglas Knight
Carrier: Argonaut Great Central Insurance
Claim Representative: Frank Totton
Damages Awarded: None—Defense Verdict
Incurred Medicals: $160,000.00
Plaintiffs’ Counsel: Richard O. Hawley, Jr. of Robert John & Associates
Defense Counsel: William H. Mullis of William H. Mullis, P.C.
Synopsis:
This case arose after a slip-and-fall at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Evansville, Indiana. On December 27, 2003, as she and her family were being led to their table by a hostess, plaintiff Daryla Maxwell slipped and fell. The complaint alleged she slipped on peanut shells or peanut dust, and in defense the restaurant alleged comparative fault. There were some peanut shells on the floor in the area of her fall.
Ms. Maxwell sustained a fracture of her coronoid process in her left elbow. By mid-February 2004 she complained of symptoms of carpal tunnel, and she later underwent carpal tunnel release procedures for both wrists (late 2004 and early 2005). Her symptoms later returned, so she again underwent the procedures (September 2006). In late 2004, Ms. Maxwell sought treatment for neck and back pain. She had a cervical surgery in June 2005 (installed artificial disc in her neck), and in February 2006 she had a two-level lumbar fusion (L3 to L5 with rods and screws). When her medical treatment was finished, her total medical expenses were in excess of $160,000.00. There were no pre-trial settlement negotiations.
The jury trial in the Vanderburgh Superior Court lasted four days in April 2009. Both parties offered testimony from both liability and independent medical experts. Ms. Maxwell testified that she fell on her buttocks with her feet slipping out from under her, landing feet forward. In contrast, one nearby customer testified that Ms. Maxwell’s position immediately after her fall was with her head in the direction of travel. There was also extensive testimony that Ms. Maxwell had been treated for neck and back pain from September through November 2003 before her fall. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant, finding that the cause of the fall was Ms. Maxwell’s own fault. The Maxwells did not appeal.