Man Fell at a Bank of America Branch and was Severely Injured
“It made all the difference that my attorneys believed in me. I was taking on Bank of America, but I felt I was right and was not going to get pushed around by a giant corporation. Your team was there at my side every step of the way. They really cared and supported me. In court, they made certain that I got to tell the truth about how I got hurt. I am grateful and would highly recommend this firm to anyone who has been injured, especially if they have to fight a big company like I did.”
….Brian Grell
Our attorneys believed client Brian Grell when he said that had received serious back injuries from slipping and falling in a Bank of America branch. This conviction and a determination to seek justice for our client ultimately carried this case into Federal Court and a favorable jury verdict. Bank of America was ordered to pay $209,630, roughly 20 times what had been offered in settlement.
The case began on August 23, 2004, when Brian visited Bank of America in Orange Park. The bank was conducting a customer promotion. Ironically, it was a paper “red carpet” for customers that caused his fall. Our legal team was confronted with a defendant unwilling to assume liability for the accident and injury. This position stemmed, in part, from strong under-oath testimony by Bank of America branch management and staff that Brian had slipped, but not fallen on their premises. Brian asserted that this was not a true description of events, so our legal team began work to uncover evidence to support his position. During the discovery process, our firm repeatedly requested interior bank video from the day in question. This request was not met, although non-related exterior ATM footage was tendered. Communications with Bank of America counsel indicated that no interior footage was available.
With this gap in evidence, it would have been easiest to accept settlement for our client. Determined to see our client receive justice, we prepared for trial. At this point, a surprising event occurred. Ten days after discovery ended, in a scene right out of a John Grisham novel, we received a package containing the missing interior surveillance images, in the form of black & white stills. Introduced at trial, these images supported our client’s assertions and caused bank employees to capitulate their previous testimony.