Friends roughhousing at house party causes $97,500 eye injury.

Wayne County Settled at case evaluation for $97,500.00 on a $100,000 policy. Defense attorney: In house counsel for Insurance. No experts utilized Defendant admitted he threw the broom and caused injury. Plaintiff was a guest at the home of Defendant for a housewarming party. The Plaintiff and Defendant had been friends for years. While a guest at Defendant's home, Plaintiff and the Defendant engaged in friendly roughhousing. Both parties admit it got a little out of hand, the roughhousing ceased and they hugged it out. Alcohol was involved. After the roughhousing had ceased for a period of time, Defendant was sweeping in the garage and threw the broom at the Plaintiff, striking Plaintiff in the left eye. Defendant testified he intentionally threw the broom but he did not intend to hurt Plaintiff, however, as a result, the broom hit Plaintiff and he was in need of emergency care. He was taken to the emergency room and then transferred to another hospital after a CT revealed a fractured left orbit injury. Plaintiff has been followed regularly where he has been evaluated for trauma, blurry vision, occular deformity, increased pressures, medication administration, and will continue to need to be seen for elevated pressures associated with glaucoma. An attending physician indicated there is future concerns due to the extent of the initial injury with a medial fracture and the fact that his eye pressure skyrocketed to the 50’s, with the normal being in the 20’s. He was on medications for inflammation and pressures and carries a diagnoses of traumatic glaucoma. His doctor is encouraged because the condition was caught and treated early and because Plaintiff has been such a compliant patient. At the present time, Plaintiff has been taken off medication with no apparent peripheral vision damage loss. However, Plaintiff is considered high risk for the development of glaucoma with elevated pressures. Glaucoma is a process which can damage the optic nerve which can lead to vision loss and blindness. Pressures increase when too much fluid is produced in the eye or the drainage channels are blocked. Damage to the optic nerve and impairment of vision from glaucoma are irreversible. According to his attending physicians, Plaintiff will need to be followed every six months for the rest of his life and if pressures are detected, he will need to be treated accordingly. Treatment ranges from medication to surgery. Plaintiff is 29 years old and was employed part time at the time. He lost his job due to medical restrictions relating to the incident. He is, however, now gainfully employed. He has no dependents.