Texas Woman Awarded $4.9 Million

 Posted on October 26, 2018 in Personal Injury Attorney

Brenda Alcala of Dallas filed a slip and fall lawsuit and was awarded more than $4.9 million pertaining to her broken ankle in January 2010. A jury from Scott County established that Courtyard Management and Marriott International showed negligence in taking care of their premises, which resulted in a serious injury to Alcala after she slipped on the ice outside the Bettendorf hotel.

The report says that Alcala was in Quad Cities to meet her client and around 8 am on Jan 21, 2010. Her lawyer said that Alcala broke her right ankle and had to undergo two surgeries. The injury resulted in pay cuts as she could not manage to travel to meet her clients. Witnesses first testified in her 2014 trial, after which a jury awarded her $1.2 million.

Marriott, in 2015, appealed the ruling to the Iowa Court of Appeals and the district court decision was reversed. Acala again filed a plea in Iowa Supreme Court. In June 2016, the case was sent back to Scott County for another trial. In a 23-page written decision, the state's top court's judge cited that the instructions given by the district court were based on insufficient evidence provided.

Alcala's premises liability lawyer believes that the recent decision was a result of numerous factors such as serious and permanent injury suffered by his client. She was awarded a large amount as a consequence. In an email, Alcala wrote that the suffering was not going away and it was only getting worse. Based on the testimony received from her doctor, there might be a need of ankle fusion to help her in controlling chronic pain.

In both the trials, Marriott insisted that the company was not at fault. There were four independent witnesses to testify that the sidewalk was potentially dangerous, however.

Time Limits for Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Illinois

Before you file a premises liability lawsuit, you should be aware of the statute of limitations, which strictly limits the amount of time to file a lawsuit in the state's civil court system.
Personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date the prospective plaintiff (you) actually knew about the injury caused by the negligence of another party.

If you failed to file the lawsuit within the stipulated period, the court will refuse to consider your claim besides rare exceptions. This is the reason it is so important to comply with the statute of limitations after suffering an injury and to get help from an experienced personal injury attorney. Your lawyer will make sure you meet every deadline necessary to obtain the maximum amount of compensation to which you are entitled.

If you are were injured due to the negligence of a business or property owner in the Arlington Heights, Libertyville, Chicago, Fox River Grove, or Itasca areas, call Newland & Newland, LLP at today at 847-797-8000, or a fill out our online contact form.

(image courtesy of Markus Spiske)