While enjoying a quaint dinner with a friend, a 46-year-old construction worker received a startling surprise when a four-pound ornamental clay bell fell two feet, hitting the construction worker on the head. On the surface, this appeared to be a random accident; just a weird occurrence.
After being struck by the ornament, the worker felt no direct side effects and did not lose consciousness. He appeared to be fine. However, the worker slowly started to notice symptoms of a concussion for three days. It got so bad that the worker eventually decided to visit the emergency room.
While at the hospital, doctors determined that the worker suffered a brain injury resulting in post-concussion syndrome and memory loss. Think about that – memories this worker may have held dear are now gone forever because of this accident. His life was changed forever.
The worker filed a lawsuit against the restaurant and it was discovered the ornament was held up by a weak hemp twine. This twine was determined to be unsafe and not rated for any particular load. A jury agreed that the weak twine played a role in the ornament falling from the ceiling and the worker received $1.2 million in damages, according to allbusiness.com.
This case goes to show that what may appear to just be a random accident on the surface could actually be a case where a party was negligent.