Jury awards $855k to Coca-Cola delivery worker in Bridgeport pizza shop fall case
By Cedar Attanasio
Published 12:25 pm, Friday, May 5, 2017
BRIDGEPORT, CT—A Waterbury man has won a $855,408 jury verdict following a work-related fall in a pizza shop.
Mauricio Boez, 52, fell downstairs at the business while delivering Coca-Cola products in 2010, according to the Connecticut Law Tribune, which first reported the story. The jury ruled that the pizza place was mostly responsible for the fall, due to problems with the steps and landing.
The incident cited in the lawsuit occurred in the service entrance of the basement of Famous Pizza House on Park Avenue, which has been under new ownership since 2012.
Boez’ lawyers successfully argued that the fall led to injuries that required multiple surgeries. The jury found that he was ten percent responsible, reducing the award, according to the Tribune.
The site of the fall is a service entrance, which is not used by customers.
Around $312,000 in the case was attributed directly to medical expenses, according to the Tribune, and the rest a combination of pain and disability. Attorneys representing the former owners of the shop argued that the surgeries were required by unrelated accidents.
Unless the case is appealed, the money will be paid out from the former pizza shop’s insurance company, according to the Tribune.