$115,000 - Shoulder Injured by Unsecured Patio Umbrella

Colleen, her husband and a friend were having a summer’s afternoon lunch on the outdoor patio at the local Red Robin restaurant, at a table that had an umbrella for shade. Suddenly a gust of wind caught the umbrella, causing it to fly up into the air where it spun around and then came crashing back down toward the table. Colleen instinctively put up her arm to block the umbrella, and in doing so injured the rotator cuff in her shoulder. At first, Red Robin denied her claim, saying that there was nothing they could have done to avoid the accident. Attorney Bill Coats filed a lawsuit and hired an engineer to examine the table and umbrella. The engineer determined that because of the kite-like design of the umbrella, even a small gust of wind could send it flying if it was not locked in place. But the pin to lock the umbrella in place had not been used. A few weeks before the trial was scheduled to begin, Red Robin agreed to pay our demand of $115,000 to compensate Colleen for her injury. Stapleton v. Red Robin (2009)