Stoddard County jury awards plaintiff $475,000 in Common Pleas Courthouse personal injury case

A Stoddard County jury in Bloomfield, Missouri, Friday night found the State of Missouri at fault and awarded $475,000 to a woman who fell down the basement stairs of Cape Girardeau’s Common Pleas Courthouse.

The jury deliberated about three hours before returning the verdict in the personal-injury case. The verdict had the support of nine of the 12 jurors.

The jury, however, concluded the woman was 10% at fault. As a result, the actual award would be reduced by $47,500 to $427,500, according to an attorney involved in the case.

The stairway leading to the basement of the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau is seen Feb. 11, 2015.Southeast Missourian file

Pamela and Kelly Allen of Cape Girardeau sued over serious injuries Pamela Allen sustained in 2013 when she fell down stairs leading to the basement of the historic courthouse.

The suit was filed in March 2016 against Cape Girardeau County, but was expanded in July 2016 at the plaintiff’s request to include the city and state as defendants.

Jurors found no fault with the county, and Judge Stephen Mitchell ruled at the end of the plaintiff’s case Friday there was no evidence presented of any blame on the part of the city.

Al Spradling III, the city’s attorney, said the judge effectively dismissed the city as a defendant before closing arguments were made.

The city claimed in court documents it was the responsibility of the county and the state to maintain the building, constructed in 1854.

But the state had claimed it was the county’s responsibility and the county maintained it was the state circuit court’s responsibility.

Jackson attorney Mary Boner represented Cape Girardeau County. Attorneys with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office defended the state in the civil case.

The state-run circuit court stored court files in the basement of the courthouse at the time of the incident.

After the fall, “deputy clerks were told at their staff meeting that only clerks were permitted to go to the basement,” Boner wrote in a court filing.

The circuit judges decided to have the court files moved from the basement to the county’s Archive Center after Allen fell on the stairs, Boner wrote, citing testimony in a deposition.

Allen, who worked for a real estate title company at the time, said she fell down the steps when she went to retrieve a court file as part of her title work.

Allen’s attorney, D. Matthew Edwards, had asked the jury for an award of $500,000 as a result of the injuries and suffering she experienced.

The case was moved to Stoddard County on a change of venue. The three-day trial began Wednesday.

According to the lawsuit, Allen suffered severe injuries to her lower extremities, upper extremities and body as a whole, including a fracture of her left leg.

It’s alleged she suffered “life threatening blood clots in her lungs” and was hospitalized in intensive care for a time.

Allen underwent surgery and extensive rehabilitation as a result of her injuries, according to the suit. She had a blood filter implanted in her leg. The suit alleges Allen has experienced and will continue to suffer physical pain from her injuries. “Her injuries are permanent and disabling,” the lawsuit states.

By the start of this month, workmen’s compensation payments for Allen’s medical bills totaled more than $197,000, according to trial testimony.

In addition, the insurance company paid more than $15,000 for lost work time, testimony showed.

In her lawsuit, Allen sought to recover damages as a result of her fall, claiming the defendants knew the stairs were “dangerous and in a defective condition.” Defendants denied the allegation.

Defendants also had argued the old courthouse stairs should not be held to the standards of today’s building codes and Allen had been up and down the stairs numerous times to retrieve files while working for the title company.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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