$1M Settlement Approved in Toddler Brain Injury Case

HONOLULU, May 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, the Honolulu City Council approved a $1 million settlement to benefit the family of an injured child represented by Michael Cruise of Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner in the case of Reiny v. City and County of Honolulu.

According to court filings, the incident occurred eight years ago at a 2008 Easter egg hunt held at Kaimuki Community Park. The boy, then a 2-year-old toddler, was with his grandmother and mother at the park when he was separated in a crowd of people that had formed because the City did not follow its own crowd control and event safety plan. The park had two levels of flat area separated by a narrow set of stairs and a four-foot-high retaining wall. Against its own safety plan for the event, City organizers directed the attendees, who numbered in the hundreds, to move from the upper level of the park to the lower level using the narrow stairs.  This caused a crowd to bottleneck at the top of the stairs along the top of the retaining wall that had no guard rail and dropped four feet to a concrete slab below.  As the crowd formed, the child either stumbled or was pushed from the top of the wall to the level below, striking his head on the concrete slab. He suffered blunt head trauma, for which he still receives medical treatment.

Mr. Cruise helped the family hold the city and county of Honolulu responsible for this preventable incident, that resulted from the City not following its own safety plan, under which, it claimed, it intended to keep attendees away from the unguarded retaining wall by leading them to the lower level by another available route. Furthermore, the family alleged that the retaining wall should have had a guard rail so that kids could use the steps without a risk of falling from off of the wall.

Mr. Cruise is a dedicated advocate who has won a number of high-value settlements and court judgments for his clients. To learn more about Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner and to schedule a complimentary personal injury consultation, please visit the firm online at www.lyslaw.com.

Founded more than three decades ago, Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner has become Honolulu's trusted source of personal injury representation. With more than 100 years of combined experience, the firm's attorneys handle all types of personal injury cases, including auto accidents, construction accidents, slip and fall accidents, wrongful death, and more. To schedule a consultation, please visit www.lyslaw.com.

SOURCE Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner

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