A $510,000.00 settlement for a 69 year old woman who was attending her grandson’s wrestling match at a prominent Long Island Catholic high school. The gymnasium floor was “carpeted” with a crimson colored wrestling mat. The borders of the wrestling mat were laid directly over the border of the basketball court which was the same crimson color. Plaintiff was unable to determine where the wrestling mat ended due to the color of the mat and the floor being identical. Plaintiff tripped and sustained a fractured nose. Eight days following the incident, she was rushed to the hospital where it was determined she sustained a subdural hematoma requiring craniotomy with extended hospital and inpatient rehabilitation. This case was rejected by a large Long Island law firm stating that the defect was “open and obvious” and that plaintiff would not recover due to the nature of the accident. Mr. Gunn took the case, visited the accident location, retained an engineer and developed a theory of negligence that resulted in the settlement at the time the case was on the trial calendar.
