Hollywood Gate Malfunction Injures Man, Awarded $1.3 Mil

A West Hollywood resident was awarded $1,325,000 after a gate accident at his apartment complex left him with serious personal injuries. It was agreed that the group running the apartment facilities had neglected to maintain the gate safely operating.

It happened when Dennis Bieber, a 68-year-old man, attempted to enter his apartment complex at North Crescent Heights Blvd through a pedestrian door that was built into a subterranean parking gate at approximately the same time as another vehicle.

A kill switch built into the gate failed to kick in and as the person in the vehicle used the clicker to open the gate, it began to rise as Bieber was attempting to make his way through the door. Then as the gate opened, the heavy pedestrian door trapped Bieber’s foot, ankle and leg, and lifted him up with the gate.

Eventually Bieber was able to free himself but fell on the cement floor after self-extrication. Later he alleged that the incident caused his legs to separate unnaturally. He limped back to his apartment after the incident and monitored his condition that Saturday.

On Monday an internist inspected the injuries that happened to the pedestrian.

Bieber underwent a two-level anterior lumbar infusion surgery at L4-5 and L5-S1, and posterior lumbar foraminotomies at L2-3 and L3-4. He added that when his left ankle and foot condition worsened, due to objectively identifiable nerve damage related to the back injury that weakened his ankle and leg, he was required to wear a special splint and ankle brace. This need to use a brace was also one to reduce the chances of needing left ankle fusion surgery. Additionally, the injured victim had to undergo extensive physical therapy.

Bieber sued Xenon, Investment Corp., Crescent Heights Blvd., Rhonda Levine and the Levine Family Trust – they were believed to have owned, controlled, managed, repaired, and maintained the apartment complex. Per, Bieber, they allegedly failed to maintain and/or repair the garage gate, which created a dangerous condition for those who used the gate and pedestrian door. His counsel contended that Xenon should have repaired and/or maintained the safety devices. Per Bieber’s counsel, there were previous instances where other pedestrian gate users were in a similar situation but managed to barely escape injury.

Prior to the incident Bieber was an active citizen that partook in riding a bicycle for approximately 100 miles each week. After the accident, he was no longer able to participate in such activities and was forced to abdicate his healthy lifestyle and resort to using a walker or cane to ambulate.

Negligence of living facilities is a serious problem. If you were injured at your apartment complex due to the landlords’ failure to keep safe facilities, you need to contact a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer now!

Contact us now and get a free consultation today!

Tagged