Home Depot Settles Child's Brain Injury Case for $2.7 Million

By Mary Mitchell

Published on December 04, 2006

The temporary steel fence had been set up but inadequately secured at the garden center of the Home Depot. Matthew and his mother were in the store, a Southdale Road outlet, to buy flowers. The wind blew a sign against the fence, knocking it down and hitting Matthew on the head, sending him to the ground. Matthew was rushed to a hospital with blood coming from his ears, nose, and mouth. He had so many skull and facial fractures that the hospital staff described them as too many to count.

The jury heard evidence that the temporary fence had fallen over several times before Matthew’s injury. After two days of deliberation, the jury found that Home Depot was 95 percent at fault, and the manufacturer of the fence, Cramaro Tarpaulin Systems Ltd., was 5 percent liable.

Matthew is now 10 years old, and still struggles with the brain injury, although he is able to attend school with help.

Part of the reason that the resolution of the lawsuit took eight years was the decision to wait until Matthew was old enough for an accurate neuropsychological assessment of the extent of his disability once his brain had matured and his school challenges increased.

Comment on this article →