Milton Wilson v. Home Depot USA, Inc.

Orlando, Florida personal injury lawyers represented Plaintiff, who sued Defendant on a premises liability theory.



Plaintiff was injured when a Home Depot employee when an electric gate was closed on him.

"One of the defense's key arguments was that our client was significantly at fault because he was walking backwards when the door came down on him. While this detail was a central argument for the defense, and a key reason other attorneys turned down the case, we were able to show that everyone who goes to a store walks backwards some distance to pull out a shopping cart on a regular basis,”



"One important photo showed the view the Home Depot employee would've had from the location of the button that operates the door. Our photo showed that the view of the door from there was completely obstructed, and you could tell from the jurors' reactions that this disgusted them. Another photo came from one of our experts, who put a pressure gauge underneath the door to test how much pressure it applied when it closed,” Smith said. "When the door came down on the pressure gauge, the safety mechanism again failed to engage, and the door snapped the platform the gauge was on and bent the steel of the gauge itself. Our photos of the damage the door caused to our expert's pressure-testing apparatus helped us dispel the defense's arguments that the impact from the door hitting Mr. Wilson's back wasn't severe enough to cause his injuries.”

Plaintiff's verdict for $7.1 million.