$2,000,000 Awarded to Victim of Broken Hotel Railing

$2,000,000.00 Settlement – A dispute about maintenance issues and a prolonged foreclosure action between a hotel owner and the parent company under which the hotel was operating prevented a railing from being properly repaired. A foreign student who was working in Branson for the summer was at the hotel visiting with friends when he had the misfortune to lean against the faulty rail. It was not secured to its support posts and gave way, causing the plaintiff to fall approximately 20 feet to the paved parking area. The plaintiff sustained life-threatening head injuries and had to be flown to a hospital in Springfield where he would remain for more than 100 days while undergoing numerous surgical procedures to contain the damage and to repair the structural harm inflicted by the trauma. Documentary evidence established that the defendants were aware of the dangerous situation for nearly two years and simply had not repaired the railing. The negligence was recognized and a $2,000,000.00 settlement was granted to the plaintiff including $304,779 for special damages including past medical expenses, lost wages, and future medical expenses.