April 15, 2002
Woman awarded $500,000 in fall at Winn-Dixie
The suit: In 1998, Miami resident Nadine Lewis sued Jacksonville-based Winn Dixie in Miami-Dade Circuit Court after she slipped and fell on orange juice that had spilled onto the floor of a Miami Winn-Dixie supermarket during stocking of the refrigerated shelves. Lewis alleged negligent supervision of employees, vicarious liability and premise liability.
The Attorneys:
Roy Oppenheim, a partner at Oppenheim Pilesky in Weston, and Michael Buckley , a shareholder in Fowler white Burnett in Miami, represented Lewis. Gregory A. Victor, head of insurance and liability defense at Adorno & Zeder in Miami and Markel Arrizabalaga, an Adorno associate, represented Winn-Dixie.
The Details:
When Lewis slipped in October of 1997, she suffered a herniated disk and underwent several operations. She's currently confined to a wheelchair.
The suit alleged that neither the Winn-Dixie stock boy nor other employees employed adequate measures to clean up the spill, and that the nearest warning sign of the spill was on the opposite side of the aisle.
On Jan, 10 the jury awarded Lewis $915,000, but that was reduced by 45% because the jurors found that she bore some responsibility for the accident.
