Mrs. R and her family were shopping at a mall located in the city of Ontario, CA. Mrs. R and her family decided to purchase some food and eat at the food court inside the mall.  Above the area where Mrs. R and her family decided to eat was what looked like a large wood veneer ceiling panel.  As Mrs. R and her family were sitting in the outer area of the dining area, the portion of the ceiling panel that was suspended above their heads suddenly fell and on top of them.  It turned out that the ceiling panel’s faulty installation led to its fall.

Mrs. R and her family all sustained injuries, however, she herself and her brother-in-law were the most severe.  Mrs. R and Mr. R’s injuries were significant enough to incur around $606,000 and $79,000, respectively, in medical costs.  Mrs. R required two lumbar surgeries, to where she now has failed back syndrome and she will need a third surgery in order to install a spinal cord stimulator.  Mr. R required lumbar surgery as well and he has been informed that he will need a second surgery in the future.  Mr. Ellis was able to recover $8, 675,000 for Mrs. R.  As for Mr. R, Mr. Ellis was able to recover $1,021,000 for him.

Last modified: 06/1/22