Burger King is ordered to pay nearly $8 MILLION to man who slipped and fell in store’s bathroom, triggering back pain and surgery that resulted in a perforated COLON
- Richard Tulecki, 48, successfully sued Burger King for nearly $8million after falling in a Florida location of the fast-food chain
- The suit was won by two personal injury lawyers, who argued the Burger King should have known about the conditions that led to the fall
- Burger King has requested a new trial, in which they plan to challenge the verdict
A man who slipped and fell in the bathroom of a Hollywood, Florida Burger King was awarded $7.8million after a court judgment last week found the fast-food chain liable for the man’s injuries.
Richard Tulecki, 48, slipped and fell in the bathroom of the restaurant at 2631 S. State Road in July 2019, and subsequently took the chain to court.
He claimed the restaurant was either responsible for the conditions that led to his fall, or should have known about them and addressed them before his accident.
The suit was filed by personal injury attorneys H. Ross Zelnick and Miguel Amador, who argued that Tulecki suffered lower back injuries that resulted in surgery, which went on to be complicated by a post-operative perforated colon.
Richard Tulecki (center left) poses with his lead attorneys and a woman believed to be his wife
The Burger King at 2631 South State Rd in Hollywood, Florida, where Tulecki fell in 2019 and injured himself in a way that would require surgery
At the Florida trial, the multi-billion dollar restaurant chain argued that the plaintiff never successfully established that the restaurant’s management were actually aware there was a problem in the bathroom that needed fixing.
A doctor who had testified at trial about how Tulecki’s medical complications were caused by his fall had earlier testified, in a deposition, that he was unable to link the injuries with the fall.
The jury found Burger King 100 percent liable for the accident and awarded Tulecki nearly $700,000 for past medical expenses.
He was also awarded nearly $1million for past pain and suffering, $2.77million for future pain and suffering, and $3million for loss of future earning capacity.
Burger King plans to challenge the verdict and is requesting a new trial.
The chain restaurant is also slated to close 400 locations by the end of the year.
Tulecki’s lead attorneys – personal injury lawyers H. Ross Zelnick and Miguel Amador
Earlier this month, a family successfully sued McDonald’s, arguing that a scalding hot Chicken McNugget caused second-degree burns on their four-year-old autistic daughter.
A jury will be impaneled later this summer to determine how much McDonald’s will have to pay the family.
