In 2003, Annette Ritzmann, a master cosmetologist, was running European Beauty Concepts, a spa with more than 25 employees. Her world changed forever when one day in August, she stopped to get gas and a paper at the corner store. As she walked into the Miller Mart, she slipped on a small puddle created by a leaky awning, fell forward onto her chest and chin, and lost consciousness. A witness said the impact sent her head snapping back.
Miller Mart's owners, Miller Oil Co., admitted they had known the outside curb was dangerous.
![slip and fall negligence victim](/images-articles/slip-and-fall-negligence-cost.jpg)
Her doctors said she was suffering from "post-concussion" symptoms.
At the urging of friends, Ritzmann consulted a lawyer, Stephen Smith, who, with attorney Edward Scher, took the case to trial.
Highest slip-and-fall award in state history
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"There is no prosthetic brain," says Ritzmann's lawyer. "You could give her $100 million—it's still not going to replace the brain cells she's lost".
If in doubt, call your lawyer
Lawyers commonly advise accident victims that the full extent of an injury will only be known after a period of months, or even years. It is common for an injured person's lawyer to file the lawsuit soon after the accident, although the lawyer cannot obtain the necessary medical reports, settle the claim or, if necessary, go to trial until the extent of the injury is clear.
As the Ritzmann case illustrates, what looks like a small injury can have devastating consequences.
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