The family of a female nursing student received a $22 million settlement over a lawsuit filed after she fell from the second-floor balcony of a Cleveland bar and suffered permanent, catastrophic brain injuries.
According to the court documents, the student's family had rented a hotel room downtown to celebrate Cleveland’s iconic St. Patrick’s Day parade. She was 20 years old when she went to the Spirits Bar, along with a group of friends. The group was dancing near the upstairs railing, on the second-floor bar of the restaurant which swung open, and the student landed on the floor after hitting the granite counter, as per the lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by the student's family against the defendant.
The fall led to debilitating injuries, and the girl has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder and is anemic and requires multiple blood transfusions. She also had a stroke and was in a prolonged coma after suffering a traumatic brain injury and bleeding on her brain and has been intubated and ventilated. She has been recently brought to her home and requires 24-hour care.
The agreement finalized in April, where the defendant agreed to pay $20 million, and the bar and WD Downtown agreed to pay $1 million each. According to the settlement, approved by a probate court, the girl's mother and father will each keep $2 million and more than $8 million will be put into a fund to help cover her medical expenses.
A similar lawsuit was settled by the judge of Essex county where a man fell off from a defective apartment stairway. The man was awarded a $1.75 million settlement for the serious and life long injuries he suffered.
