Our client was a teenager who fell while leaving the apartment building where he lived in Framingham, Massachusetts.  As he was running out of the building and down the staircase at the rear entrance of the building, he lost his balance and reached out to grab the railing–only to find that it was not there.

The young man landed on his right knee and was in severe pain. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital. There doctors diagnosed him with a torn MCL ligament, which required surgery to repair.  Extensive physical therapy followed the surgery.

The insurance company for the apartment building denied liability, stating that the railing had been replaced prior to our client’s fall.  We filed a suit on our client’s behalf. During the discovery portion of the litigation, we asked for the apartment’s maintenance records.

The maintenance records produced by the apartment building showed that the railing had allegedly been repaired three days before the fall.  The client was insistent that the railing was not there. We took the deposition of the employees who supposedly repaired the railing.  At their deposition, they testified under oath that the railing had in fact not been repaired and that our client was telling the truth.

Due to this discovery, we successfully negotiated a $78,000 award on behalf of our client.