$4.9 Million Settlement for Worker Injured by Collapsed Wall

April 16, 2015, 10:30AM. By The National Trial Lawyers

A Florida man seriously injured by a display wall that fell on him while working at the Houston auto show settled pretrial with the defendants in charge of the wall for $4.9 million.

Houston attorney Scott Krist, a member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, of The Krist Law Firm, P.C., represented plaintiff David Kisich of Hollywood, Florida. As a result of the wall that collapsed onto him, Kisich sustained multiple fractured ribs, permanent ulnar nerve damage, and also underwent major back surgery for a lumbar fusion.

Auto show display wall defect

The wall that collapsed was part of a display at the Houston Auto Show. The show took place in January 2012 at the Reliant Center, which is owned and operated by defendants SMG Holdings and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation. The wall was designed and managed by defendant Exhibit Works, which retained defendant TERM to construct the wall.

Kisich asserted that the defendants’ collective acts and omissions were negligent in the design and construction of the wall, which proximately caused the injuries Kisich sustained when the wall collapsed onto him.

Injuries requiring lifelong treatment

As a result of the injuries from the fallen wall, and after his back surgery, Kisich was diagnosed with chronic pain syndrome, according to court documents. He now must live with permanent nerve damage, requiring lifelong medical care and therapy with lifetime cost totals of more than $2.9 million, according to court documents.

Plaintiff attorney Krist and the defendants’ attorneys began preparing for trial in 2013, but came to a settlement agreement approximately three weeks before the scheduled trial date. Kisich received a settlement of $4.9 million for his injuries.