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Case of the Month May 2021
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Case of the Month May 2021

Loading Dock Fall Settles for $275K

Berendt v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company

Case Type:
Premises Liability - Business Premises
Premises Liability - Loading Dock


Specific Liability:
Negligence in maintaining an unsafe premises

General Injury:
Rotator Cuff

Jurisdiction:
State: Wisconsin
Circuit Court of Wisconsin, Third Judicial District, Waukesha County.

Related Court Documents:
Plaintiff's amended complaint: 2019 WL 11866832
Expert report and affidavit of Joseph M. Kroner, M.D.: 2018 WL 11299557
Defendants' final pretrial report: 2020 WL 8918772
Order approving distribution of third-party proceeds: 2019 WL 8918547

Case Name:
Berendt v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company; Firstime Manufactory, Inc.

Docket/File Number:
2019-CV-000332

Result Amount:
$275,000


Result Date:
November 17, 2020

Judge:
Lloyd V. Carter

Attorneys:
Plaintiff: Thadd J. Llaurado, Murphy & Prachthauser S.C., Milwaukee, WI
Plaintiff: Keith Stachowiak, Murphy & Prachthauser S.C., Milwaukee, WI
Defendant: Michael J. Wirth, Schmidt & Wirth, Milwaukee, WI

Result Type:
Settlement

Experts:
Plaintiff: Orthopedic Surgeon: Kroner, John, M.D., Miliwaukee, WI
Defendant: Not Reported

Breakdown of Award:
Total Compensatory Award: $275,000
Comparative Negligence Percentage: 0

Summary of Facts:
Paul R. Berendt, a 54-year-old male employed as a truck driver, reportedly sustained a full thickness rotator cuff tear to his right shoulder, which required arthroscopic surgery and left him with permanent impairment, when, while on the loading dock of defendant Firstime Manufactory, Inc. picking up a load, he tripped on an angled piece of iron bolted to the floor and fell forward, bracing himself up by his right arm.iThe plaintiff named the defendant's insurer, Auto-Owners Insurance Company,as a co-defendant to his action. The plaintiff contended that the defendant premises owner was negligent in maintaining an unsafe premises, failing to routinely inspect and monitor the dock area, failing to adopt and use methods to render the property as safe as reasonably possible as its nature permitted and was the proximate cause of his permanent injury.

The plaintiff's spouse filed a loss of services claim, contending that she was deprived of the services of her husband.The parties reached a settlement in the matter.

Circuit Court of Wisconsin, Third Judicial District, Waukesha County.

Westlaw Citation:
2020 WL 9073321


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