Muscogee County Jury Awards 2.3 Million For Injured Shoulder
A Columbus woman who slipped and fell in her home after water spilled from the
equipment of a carpet-cleaning service was awarded $2.3 million by a MUSCOGEE County jury.
Claudette Black had contracted with a ServiceMaster franchise to clean her carpets on Oct. 4, 2001, according to
court documents. When the cleaning equipment leaked water onto the floor in her kitchen. Black fell and suffered
several injuries, including a torn rotator cuff.
According to attorney Ben B. Philips of Columbus’ Philips Branch, who represented Black, along with John T.
Martin of that city’s The Martin Firm, the successful outcome resulted from the testimony of a former
ServiceMaster employee who said that, instead of using a new truck in which the cleaning equipment stayed on
board and hoses were run into the house, an older system was used.
“The testimony was clear that they had brought a used, leaky machine that they had more or less put in storage
instead of the new, state-of-art machine, because the truck that it held it had broken down that day,” said
Philips.
The company insisted that it had used the new equipment for more than two years, he said, until a former
employee—who had dropped from sight—resurfaced to testify weeks before trial.
Black, who was 64 at the time of the accident, suffered permanent injuries, said Philips.
“It completely tore out her rotator cuff,” he said, “and she’s almost lost the use of her left arm. She can’t
raise it above her ribcage, and she had to cut her hair off to a half-inch because she can’t brush it.
“I think that resonated with the jury,” he added.
Following a day-and-a-half trial before MUSCOGEE County State Court Judge Maureen Gottfried, the jury deliberated
45 minutes before returning a plaintiff’s verdict, said Philips.
Defense attorney Vanice H. Sikes Jr. of Alpharetta’s Shivers & Associates had not responded to a request for
comment by press time.
The case is Black v. CBS Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a ServiceMaster (No. SC-03-CV-416, MUSCOGEE St. Ct.).
223 Twelfth Street