A custodian at a Bucks County High School recently recovered over $100,000 for injuries that she suffered as a result of tripping over an exposed pipe in the school’s kitchen. The custodian injured her larynx and neck when she landed on a nearby sink. Her injuries prevented her from singing in her church choir for months.
The school was undergoing a major renovation. It was the end of the summer and the custodian and her employees were having a lunch celebration for all of their hard work in preparing the school for the new school year. After the party, the custodian was returning pots and pans to the kitchen when she tripped over the exposed pipe. This pipe is supposed to be covered by a large industrial kitchen table. There were several outside contractors that may have recently been working in the kitchen and could have moved the table. These contractors may have left the pipe exposed and did not provide any warnings to the custodian or others about the tripping hazard.
Initially all of the contractors denied any liability for the incident. However, we were able to prove that the contractors were in fact responsible for the incident and that they should compensate the custodian. The good news is that after she recovered from her injuries, she was able to rejoin her church choir.