Trial News

As Doe, 2, was playing in the courtyard of his housing community, the courtyard’s access gate swung open and pinched his fingers. He required amputation of the ends of two of the fingers on his right hand.

Doe’s mother, on his behalf, sued Construction Rent-A-Fence, Inc., which had installed the fencing, including the access gate, around the housing community. The plaintiff alleged negligence and negligence per se for the defendant’s failure to install a locking mechanism on the gate and construct it in a manner that would have minimized pinch points. The plaintiff also alleged the defendant should have installed stops on the gate to prevent it from swinging back and forth.

The parties settled for $125,000, which includes a Medicaid lien of approximately $7,200.

Citation: Doe v. Constr. Rent-a-Fence, Inc., No. 2016CI20548 (Tex. Dist. Ct. Bexar Cnty. June 21, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Michael R. De La Paz, San Antonio, Texas.