Broken Chair Injury Case Study

Jared found our ad in the Yellow Pages. He fell at a mall portrait studio. The chair he was sitting in collapsed and aggravated an old back injury. Could we help him? We had him come in to meet our legal team and discuss his broken chair injury situation.

Portraits At The Mall

Jared and his wife went to get professional photos taken at a local studio in the mall. They had just ended their session. The staff directed the couple to a desk and some chairs to view the photos. After about 15 minutes, Jared’s chair broke. The back leg snapped right off and Jared went down on the floor.

Prior Back Injury

Jared had a previous back injury. But, up until the broken chair, he was doing better. The fall on the broken chair aggravated his back injury. It made his pain worse than before. Treatment and pain management wasn’t working.

Product Liability Case

Jared isn’t a big guy. He’s a little husky, but the chair should have held his weight. When it didn’t, this is a red flag for us. We investigated the chair model and manufacturer. Were there other problems with this model of the chair? Was there a manufacturing defect?
Our investigation showed there was a problem with the chair. There were reports of several injuries using this chair. The studio chain had purchased hundreds of this model and was experiencing issues. But, they were the only ones. Was this a product liability case?

Defective Chair

Was the chair defective? Emails from the portrait studio company, the furniture dealer, and the manufacturer gave us the answer. The furniture dealer did not properly assemble the chairs. The assemblers neglected to secure the legs with the supplied set screw. This led to the legs breaking off.

Chair Injury Premises Liability

Though we found the cause of the chair problem, we also found another problem. The portrait studio knew their chairs were dangerous. We found emails directing staff to keep using the chair after reports of injuries. As a result, Jared and others got hurt.

Building The Case For Jared

The furniture dealer made a mistake when assembling the chairs. This chair was still in use. And, no one wanted to pay for Jared’s bills. We understand their skepticism. A fall from a chair shouldn’t cause major medical expenses. But Jared was genuinely hurt. We were determined to help him.
Our team went to work. We gathered all the information against the furniture dealer and the portrait studio. Witnesses came in for depositions and we recorded their statements.

Mediation Settlement

After we assembled all the information, we got ready for court. But, the other side offered to meet in mediation. Mediation uses a neutral party to negotiate. The neutral party works with all sides separately toward a mutual resolution.
During mediation, all parties came to an agreement to settle the case before going to court. Both the furniture dealer and the photo studio agreed to compensate Jared for his injury. In the end, they agreed to pay him a total of $800,000 for his chair injury.

Lancaster Chair Injury Lawyer

At Haggerty & Silverman, we help people like Jared every day. Our experienced legal team dug up evidence to prove who was responsible for his injuries. Then, we made sure they were punished enough to fix or replace all the dangerous chairs. Our goal is to help injured people and prevent future injury.
If you have questions about a chair fall injury or any type of injury, call our office. You can call or text us anytime at 717-397-3200. Or, fill out our online form to schedule a free chair injury consultation. You don’t pay us unless we recover money for you.