$2.3 Million
Angela Willauer v. Town of Greenwich. On February 13, 2013, Ms. Willauer parked her car in the Town of Greenwich’s Town Hall Parking garage as she did every workday for several years. The parking spot was one of several leased by her employer, Mercedes Benz of Greenwich, to accommodate employee overflow at its nearby dealership. More than two days earlier, on February 10, Greenwich experienced a large winter snowstorm. While on February 10 and 11 crews worked diligently to clear the roads of snow, no snow and ice control took place at the Town Hall garage where open sides allowed snow to drift into the middle level where Mercedes Benz employees were required to park. As Ms. Willauer headed from her car to the dealership shuttle, her feet went out from under her, and she slammed the back of her on a surface that was covered with black ice. The Stamford jury found liability 90% in Willauer’s favor under Connecticut’s comparative negligence statute, while also finding in her favor on Greenwich’s qualified municipal immunity claims. Ms. Willauer experienced a fairly typical presentation of persistent post-concussion symptoms. Her clinical presentation included unremitting daily headaches. To her credit, she forced herself to keep working for approximately 3 ½ years, despite her headaches. Some of her fellow employees testified that they could see that she was in pain, and the general manager and her supervisor both testified that there were days that she left work early because of her headache. She retired prematurely, testifying that she could not continue to function on the job.
