A Florida man has been awarded nearly $8 million in payouts after he allegedly slipped and fell in a Burger King restaurant in Hollywood, Florida, according to a press release from his attorneys.
Richard Tulecki filed suit against Burger King for negligence after he allegedly slipped on a “wet foreign substance” in 2019, resulting in “serious injuries,” CBS News reported Wednesday. Now, a Broward County judge has ordered Seven Restaurants/Burger King to pay Tulecki roughly $8 million, according to a press release from Tulecki’s lawyers.
Tulecki “suffered lower back injuries resulting in surgery complicated by a postoperative perforated colon” when he allegedly slipped, the press release reads. The purported fall caused him both physical and emotional damages, CBS reported.
A Florida court has ordered a Burger King franchise to pay nearly $8 million to a customer who allegedly slipped and injured his back at the restaurant. https://t.co/7ZJjbbkTYG
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) May 25, 2023
The lawsuit, filed in 2021, claimed the restaurant failed “to ensure that the area and floor of the business was free and clear of any hazards,” Fox Business reported. The total damages award includes $3.35 million for lost earnings and $700,000 for medical bills, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Video Shows Fan Hilariously Offering King Charles A Burger King Crown)
“Our client suffered tremendous hardship due to the Defendant’s negligence. While no verdict could undo those damages, it will provide him and his family with the resources to move forward,” one of Tulecki’s lawyers, H Ross Zelnick, said in the press release.
Tulecki must “pay large sums of money for doctor bills, hospital bills and other directly and indirectly related expenses in an effort to alleviate his suffering,” his lawyers alleged in the lawsuit, according to Fox Business.
Seven Restaurants, which operates the Burger King franchise, requested a retrial May 19, claiming Tulecki and his lawyers provided “virtually no evidence” and calling the damages award “clearly excessive,” the outlet reported.