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Man Sues Lifelong Friend For Injuries - $425,000 Case (Full Episode) | Injury Court - YouTube
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[0]
<i> This is</i> Personal Injury Court.
[3]
Good day, everyone.
[4]
This is the matter
of Williams versus Harris.
[6]
Mr. Williams,
you are suing the Harrises
[8]
for medical bills,
[10]
pain and suffering,
for injuries you suffered
[12]
when a garage door
at their house
[14]
came down
and crashed on your head
[16]
and hurt your neck.
[17]
You're suing for $300,000
for your medical bills,
[20]
and $125,000
for pain and suffering
[24]
for a total of $425,000,
is that correct?
[27]
Yes, Your Honor.
[29]
And Mr. and Mrs. Harris,
[31]
you all believe
that this is his fault?
[33]
-[both] Yes, Your Honor.
-Absolutely.
[34]
[Brogdon] His injuries and bills
are all for him to handle?
[37]
-[Mrs. Harris] Yes, Your Honor.
-Exactly.
[38]
Okay, well, let's get into
the legal sauce.
[40]
Now, Mr. Harris,
[42]
how did you
come to be at this house?
[44]
Basically, it all started,
Your Honor,
[46]
is when I was younger.
I was around seven years old.
[49]
My mother raised five kids,
I was the only boy.
[52]
And I really didn't have
any friends.
[54]
When I met Mr. Harris
when I was in school,
[57]
we just connected.
You know, I was the--
[59]
-You guys are life-long friends?
-[Williams] Yes, sir.
[61]
Um, I was the class clown
at school
[63]
and he was too.
[64]
So we just made, you know,
just connection.
[67]
It was over after that.
[68]
-Two clowns getting down?
-[Williams] Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
[70]
We were close
all through middle school,
[72]
high school,
um, I was at his wedding,
[74]
he was at my wedding,
[75]
he was my best man
at my wedding.
[77]
He was the best man
in your wedding?
[79]
-[Williams] Yes, sir.
-That's special.
[80]
Yes, it is. Now, we played
football together
[83]
and, you know,
on a football team,
[85]
he was better to me.
[87]
I'm not going to lie,
you know, I looked up to him.
[88]
[Brogdon] Some of
my best friends in my life
[91]
I've made on the football field
[93]
from fifth,
sixth, seventh grade.
[95]
[Williams] Yes, sir.
[96]
[Brogdon]
I understand that friendship.
[97]
So, you all
played football together,
[99]
you grew up together.
[101]
You were friends
up until this incident?
[103]
-[Williams] Yes, and--
-What lead you
[104]
to be at their house this day?
[106]
Basically, I was married
for ten years, Judge.
[109]
[Brogdon] Yes, sir,
I was married for 21.
[111]
So you know
how hard it can be,
[112]
you know, just being married
in general, you know?
[115]
Well, marriage is work,
but rewarding work.
[117]
[Williams] Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
[118]
So, I've been divorced now
for three months
[121]
and it's been a struggle for me.
[122]
Mr. Harris
has been there for me,
[124]
he told me
that he had a townhouse
[126]
back in our hometown
that I can stay there.
[128]
So, your man
was trying to help you out?
[130]
-[Williams] Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
-Okay.
[132]
So, you know, it says me
to even really be here today,
[135]
you know, I have so much love
for Mr. Harris.
[137]
And I still do. It's just--
[138]
[Brogdon] Did you heard that,
Mr. Harris?
[140]
-He still got love for you.
-[Harris] I hear it--
[142]
-[Brogdon] Do you feel the love?
-[Harris] But here we are.
[144]
I always had his back.
[146]
It's something we learned...
we grew up learning, you know,
[149]
got your back
on and off the field.
[150]
[Brogdon]
You always had his back?
[152]
So, after his divorce,
I had his back,
[153]
as I always do.
I always come through for him.
[156]
You were there to help him
through these tough times...
[158]
From grade school to now,
and here we are.
[160]
-So, you know...
-Not now.
[161]
I wanted to help my brother out.
He coming back home,
[163]
he needed a house to be in,
[165]
I talked to my wife,
we agreed to let him in,
[167]
and, sure enough, it comes back
to backfire in my face.
[170]
No good deed
goes unpunished, huh?
[172]
[Harris]
No good deed goes unpunished.
[173]
[Brogdon] So you do see that?
[174]
Your man
is trying to help you out.
[176]
Yes, sir. Um, I wish
I wasn't here today, Judge.
[179]
[Brogdon]
Tell me what happened.
[180]
I mean, you're in a neck brace,
[182]
you look like
you are in a lot of pain--
[184]
-[Williams] I'm in extreme pain.
-What happened to get you here?
[187]
I basically was in the garage
[188]
and I was going to the store.
[190]
I heard a noise
from the top of the garage,
[192]
I look up and I notice
that the garage door
[195]
was starting
to come down a little bit.
[197]
So, my instincts kicked in.
[199]
You know, get out of here,
survival mode. So, I sprint, I--
[202]
[Brogdon]
What position did you play?
[204]
Running back.
[205]
[Brogdon] Your running back
instincts kicked in,
[206]
then what
did the running back do?
[208]
[Williams] I took off.
[209]
And I was heading
for a touchdown.
[211]
But what happened was
I got stopped by a linebacker
[213]
that was the garage door.
[215]
It slammed down
on top of my back.
[217]
I mean, I've been hit
by linebackers 250 pounds,
[220]
but it was nothing like
this pain I experienced, Judge.
[223]
You know, it basically pinned me
to the ground,
[225]
and the door--
[226]
[Brogdon] So, this door
crashed on top of your neck?
[228]
-[Williams] Yes, sir.
-Okay.
[229]
[Williams]
It crashed from my upper back.
[231]
I have a disc herniation
from C4 to C6.
[235]
[Brogdon] Now, y'all,
this is your place, right,
[237]
your door?
You own that door, right?
[240]
[Williams] Raggedy one.
[241]
How did y'all know
that this happened?
[244]
-Your Honor...
-[Brogdon] How'd you find out?
[245]
We didn't know
about this incident
[247]
until Roger was in the hospital.
[250]
[Brogdon] I imagine that,
given he's a good friend,
[253]
you all were really concerned
for him?
[255]
-I was extremely concerned.
-[Mr. Harris] Exactly.
[257]
-She didn't care.
-He's my husband's friend.
[258]
-She didn't care.
-I just wanted understanding.
[261]
[Brogdon] You don't sound
that cozy about that.
[264]
-No, she don't like me, Judge.
-I... hm.
[266]
Has it always been that way?
[267]
You know, me and my husband
[269]
have been married
for almost ten years now,
[272]
and we have a great partnership,
we love each other,
[276]
-we have a respectable union...
-[Brogdon] That's great.
[279]
...and we accept one another
for who we are.
[281]
-[Brogdon] Yes, ma'am.
-Unfortunately,
[283]
that included Roger.
[284]
Well, you gotta take
friends and family,
[287]
-you know that...
-[Mrs. Harris] I endorsed him.
[288]
-I--
-That's what marriage is about.
[290]
We don't try to, you know, um,
put restrictions on one another
[294]
-or anything like that...
-So you were saying
[295]
that you all found out
when he was in the hospital?
[298]
When I found out,
I was extremely concerned.
[301]
This is my best friend
that I'm hearing about
[303]
seeing pictures in the hospital,
phone calls from the hospital...
[305]
And he's hurt on your property.
[307]
We do own the property, however,
like he mentioned before,
[310]
he signed over a lease.
[312]
He ran under the door,
Your Honor.
[314]
But I just want to know
[316]
what adult man
would run under a garage door?
[320]
A former running back
who still thinks he got it.
[322]
[both] We all thinks he got it.
[324]
[Williams] I still got it...
[stutters]
[326]
[Brogdon] Well, apparently,
[328]
you didn't still have it
[329]
'cause the garage door
tackled you, right?
[331]
[Williams] Well...
[333]
[Brogdon] Tell me this:
[335]
if he's not going try to slide
across the goal line
[337]
into this garage door,
[339]
how will he get
out of the garage?
[340]
There are multiple ways.
[341]
-[Brogdon] Tell me.
-Normal people...
[342]
-Like us.
-[Brogdon] Normal people?
[344]
A regular, responsible adult
[346]
-would use a side door...
-Run under the garage.
[347]
...which he has key access to.
[349]
[Brogdon] So, you knew
there was a side door?
[351]
-True?
-[Williams] True.
[352]
You'd lived there
for a little while,
[354]
-you weren't blind.
-True.
[355]
[Mrs. Harris] Where there's also
a key pad.
[357]
A working keypad?
[358]
-[Williams] No.
-[Mrs. Harris] A working keypad
[360]
that he had the code to
[362]
that at the time
of him moving in,
[363]
we even switched over
to his own personal code...
[366]
Showed him how to work it.
[367]
[Mrs. Harris]
Showed him how to work it...
[368]
[Brogdon] So, Mr. Williams,
you had a keypad
[370]
and you knew how to work it,
[372]
and it worked
the garage door, right?
[374]
It did not work, Judge.
[376]
Did you tell them
it didn't work?
[377]
[Williams] I told them,
I got evidence, Judge.
[379]
So, when he says it didn't work,
[380]
then he's only got
one way to get out
[383]
and that's the side door?
[384]
[Williams] I forgot the code.
[385]
-[audience laughs]
-[Brogdon] He forgot it.
[387]
That's why it didn't work,
Your Honor.
[389]
-It worked when we signed.
-It didn't work because he--
[390]
So, you forgot the code?
[392]
I will say this, Judge,
I forgot the code, but...
[396]
It's survival mode.
[397]
When you see something,
you gotta go,
[398]
so, yeah, I forgot the code...
[400]
So, running out of the garage
was survival mode?
[403]
[Williams]
I had to get out.
[404]
Couldn't you have
gone out the side door?
[405]
[Mrs. Harris]
Thank you, Your Honor.
[407]
But, Judge, if the garage door
would've been working properly
[410]
-when I moved in...
-[Brogdon] You would've scored?
[412]
Scored all day. Touchdown.
[416]
Now, Mr. Williams, I see that
you have incurred $300,000
[420]
in medical bills.
[422]
-Yes.
-That's a lot of money.
[423]
I'm in a lot of pain.
[425]
Tell me
what you've been through.
[426]
Basically, you know,
I've been injured
[429]
at the disc herniation
from C4 to C6.
[432]
-Upper part of my back.
-[Brogdon] Yes, sir.
[435]
[Williams]
It's changed my life completely.
[437]
It aches and throb every day,
it's in pain right now.
[440]
[Brogdon]
To further understand the nature
[441]
and severity of your injuries,
Mr. Williams,
[443]
I've invited Doctor Karin Flood
[445]
to come and explain
from a medical perspective
[448]
what you're going through.
[449]
Dr. Flood, would you stand
and step to the monitor?
[454]
And tell me what this is
from a medical perspective.
[458]
-[dramatic music]
-[narrator]<i> Next...</i>
[459]
from a medical perspective
what you're going through.
[460]
Doctor, can you explain
the extent
[462]
of the plaintiff's injuries?
Mr. William's injuries?
[464]
[Flood] Yes, Your Honor.
[466]
When the garage door
struck the claimant
[467]
in the back of the neck,
[468]
it caused an injury
to his cervical spine.
[470]
This is an image
of the cervical spine,
[472]
the bones of the neck.
[473]
They line up like little boxes.
[475]
Between each of those
is the disc.
[477]
And this cushions each of those
little vertebral bodies.
[480]
And allows you,
[481]
as you bend your neck
forwards and backwards,
[483]
to absorb some of that shock.
[484]
In his case,
he damaged these discs
[486]
at a couple different levels.
[487]
That comes out
and pushes on the nerves
[489]
that go out
to the rest of your body.
[491]
So, how do you repair
such a thing?
[494]
Well, in this case,
you actually need to take out
[496]
that damaged disc.
[498]
-I've got a video of that.
-[Brogdon] Surgery.
[499]
[Flood] Yes, surgery.
[501]
You see what y'all did to me?
[502]
-Doc, explain what this depicts.
-[Williams] Your garage.
[505]
So, this depicts
taking the disc out
[507]
from between
those vertebral bodies,
[509]
between those boxes of bone,
[510]
putting a spacer of bone
in between them.
[512]
-I will never be the same.
-[Flood] You can take those
[513]
from your own hip
or from a donor,
[515]
and then you'll put
a plate on the front
[517]
and screw in a series of screws
to hold that plate in place
[520]
to allow this to fuse
into one piece of bone
[523]
to support those nerves
[524]
and help prevent
from further damage.
[526]
So, what's his prognosis
[527]
after this, uh,
hardware's put in?
[530]
[Flood] Depends how bad it is.
[531]
Because of the pressure
on the nerves,
[532]
you can get damage
[533]
that causes numbness
into your hands,
[535]
you can get weakness
of your arms.
[537]
You can get chronic pain
that can be persistent,
[539]
even after surgery.
And, of course,
[541]
you'll have some stiffness
of the neck.
[542]
Okay, thank you, doctor.
[543]
[Flood] Yes, Your Honor.
[545]
Mr. Williams, what, uh,
numbness, things in your arms,
[550]
you experiencing any of that?
[551]
Numbness, sharpness,
tightness...
[553]
-[Brogdon] Is this every day?
-Every day.
[555]
Y'all see he's
in some agony, right?
[558]
[Harris] Yes, Your honor.
[559]
[Brogdon] And you wouldn't want
that to happen to your buddy
[561]
-or simply just a tenant?
-Anyone.
[563]
[Mrs. Harris]
You're right, Your Honor.
[564]
[Brogdon] But you believe
it's his fault?
[565]
-Absolutely, Your Honor.
-Yes, sir.
[567]
So, Mr. and Mrs. Harris,
y'all said that, uh,
[569]
you had Mr. Williams
sign a lease,
[571]
-and that you signed?
-[Mrs. Harris] Yes, Your Honor.
[572]
[both] Absolutely.
[573]
[Brogdon] To formalize
this relationship.
[574]
Yes, Your Honor.
[576]
[Brogdon] Did you bring
the lease?
[577]
-Absolutely.
-[Brogdon] Sheriff Matt,
[578]
will you retrieve that lease?
[579]
[Mrs. Harris]
I have it right here.
[583]
Now, Mr. Williams,
you remember signing a lease?
[586]
Yes, Your Honor.
[587]
[Brogdon]
I see here on item number 17:
[590]
"Tenant is responsible for lawn,
trash, windows, garage,
[595]
air conditioning,
lavatories, sinks,
[597]
-toilets, glass and doors."
-Yes, sir.
[601]
Now, Mr. Williams,
you understood
[603]
that you had
certain responsibilities
[606]
to maintain the property?
[607]
Yes, Your Honor. But...
[610]
[Brogdon] So, why didn't you get
this garage door fixed?
[613]
Well, Your Honor,
I did send Mr. Harris a text
[616]
telling him about the code
of the garage door
[620]
-wasn't working--
-[Brogdon] Did you get the text?
[622]
I did, I even responded.
[623]
[Williams]
And I told him I couldn't pay.
[625]
Now, even though
this is your responsibility,
[627]
you wanted him to pay for it.
[628]
I didn't have the money.
I told him I couldn't pay.
[630]
He agreed to it. I actually,
I have something to--
[632]
-[Mr. Harris] Your Honor--
-[Brogdon] Let's look at it.
[635]
Let's take a look at the text
[636]
that you submitted
to the court.
[638]
Mr. Harris,
you're in the red, right?
[641]
-[Harris] Yes, sir.
-[Brogdon] And you wrote,
[642]
"How much are you able to pay
for the garage door?"
[645]
-Right?
-Yes, Your Honor.
[646]
[Brogdon] You expected him
to pay something?
[648]
-As per...
-As he agreed.
[649]
[Brogdon] Okay.
Now, in the gray it says,
[651]
"After all I've been through,
I cannot afford it right now."
[654]
That's what you wrote,
Mr. Williams.
[655]
Yes, Your Honor.
[657]
[Brogdon] and then in response,
Mr. Harris, you said,
[659]
"Okay, I got it."
[662]
What did you mean by that?
[664]
[stammers] I just meant
I understood him, Your Honor.
[666]
I know what he's going through,
I feel like I'm his friend,
[669]
I tried to bail him out
[670]
and take care of him
as much as I can.
[671]
So, when I say,
"Okay, I got it",
[673]
I mean "I understand
what you're going through."
[675]
[Brogdon]
What did you think he meant?
[676]
I got it covered,
that's what it says.
[678]
[Brogdon] You thought
he would pay for it?
[680]
I mean, yes. Yes, Your Honor.
[682]
[Harris] I think he's used to me
taking care of him.
[685]
That meant that
we weren't going to pressure you
[687]
-in trying to fix it.
-[Brogdon] Mr. and Mrs. Harris,
[689]
here's the legal lesson
in this case.
[691]
When you all sign a lease,
a written lease,
[694]
as the law requires you to do
when you lease a place,
[698]
you all got into
a contractual relationship.
[701]
This is a binding,
legal agreement
[703]
where both of you have
responsibilities to each other
[707]
to make sure that
this works out right.
[709]
You were responsible
to take care of the property,
[712]
you were responsible
to pay for this door.
[714]
I know that you
had texted Mr. Harris
[717]
about paying for the door
'cause you couldn't.
[719]
Y'all, you were very specific
in the lease,
[722]
but real unclear
[724]
as to what was going to happen
with the door.
[726]
You see that
in hindsight, right?
[727]
Yes, Your Honor.
[729]
So, both of you all knew
that the garage door was kinda
[731]
uh, ragged... right?
[733]
[Harris and Williams] Yes.
[735]
But the lease determines
your legal responsibilities.
[738]
And we cannot
lose sight of that.
[740]
[Harris] Yes, Your Honor.
[742]
I mean, yes.
[743]
Gentlemen, Mrs. Harris,
I think that I've heard enough
[746]
and I am ready
to render my decision.
[750]
Mr. Williams,
from the evidence
[752]
that you've presented today
[753]
you've suffered an incredible,
life-altering injury.
[757]
Now, I understand your friend
is doing a good job for you.
[761]
You had those, uh,
running back kind of, uh,
[764]
uh, reminiscence
[765]
about getting
under the garage door
[767]
and you tried to make it
and it did not work out.
[770]
You also thought from that text
[772]
that Mr. Harris
was going to fix the door.
[776]
So, the evidence in the case
that you kind of assumed
[779]
that the door was okay.
[781]
Unfortunately, the move you made
left you on the garage floor
[785]
with the door
on the back of your neck.
[787]
You all did him a great favor
[790]
in allowing him
to stay at your home,
[792]
provided,
as provided in the lease,
[795]
that he did some repairs
and kind took care of it.
[798]
You gave him a break,
he gives you a break.
[800]
Y'all had no idea
[802]
that he was going to be
injured like this.
[805]
The reality is, though,
[806]
that the law requires
that everyone be responsible
[811]
for what they
contractually agreed to.
[814]
In a personal injury case
[815]
there are three things
that must be proven.
[818]
You, Mr. Williams,
[819]
have to prove
that the Harrises were wrong,
[822]
and that their wrong
caused your injuries.
[825]
Clearly you were injured
because of that garage door.
[828]
But the wrong is what is, uh,
ticklish for me.
[833]
Here, you had some choices
about going under the door.
[837]
Mrs. Harris, you made the point
[838]
that he could've gone out
the side door.
[840]
And you could have.
[841]
That would have been
reasonable and safe.
[844]
You all, on the other hand,
[846]
you knew that
this door was in bad shape.
[848]
You also kinda knew
he didn't have the money
[851]
to fix the door,
he's in the midst of a divorce.
[854]
I find here
that there was wrong.
[857]
But it was shared.
[859]
That is you took a chance,
then you had to pay a price.
[862]
A dear price, a terrible price.
[864]
You all did not have
your property in good shape.
[867]
And, therefore,
you're both wrong.
[869]
But, I do not find,
Mr. Williams,
[871]
that you are 50% wrong.
[874]
I find you 49% wrong.
[877]
And in that regard,
[878]
I'm going to reduce
[881]
your claim in this case.
[882]
You are asking for $425,000.
[886]
In reducing your award by 49%,
[890]
I award you $216,750
[895]
-against the Harrises.
-[Mrs. Harris] What?
[896]
That is my final decision
and this matter is adjourned.
[900]
[Williams] Thank you.
[901]
[narrator]<i>
Our attorneys across America</i>
[903]
<i> just viewed this case
for the first time.</i>
[905]
<i> Let's hear what Chad Dudley
has to say.</i>
[909]
There's an interesting aspect
to this case.
[912]
Even though Mr. Williams
was friends with the plaintiff,
[914]
he still required him
to sign a lease
[916]
that memorialized
the terms of the rent
[918]
and the obligations
and responsibilities
[920]
of both parties.
[921]
This is always
the wise thing to do,
[923]
especially when the act
is between family members
[925]
or friends.
[926]
Legally protect yourself
[928]
just as you would
with strangers.
[935]
You know this is your fault.
[937]
Irresponsible.
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