A Florida Burger King has been ordered to hand over $8 million after a customer was injured inside the restaurant.
Richard Tulecki, 48, slipped and fell on a “wet foreign substance” inside the bathroom of a Burger King in Hollywood, Florida, leaving him “seriously injured,” according to court documents obtained by CBS News.
The incident, which took place in 2019, left Tulecki with lower back injuries that required surgery that then caused a postoperative perforated colon, Tulecki’s representation said in a statement.
His injuries left Tulecki unable to work, which was “a major part of his identity” resulting in financial and emotional strain, his lawyers told CBS MoneyWatch.
A jury found Seven Restaurants, the owner of the Burger King franchise, “100% liable” for causing the fall. Tulecki was awarded $7.81 million in damages but then reduced the amount to $7.68 million to account for medical expenses already covered by insurance. The total includes $3.35 million for lost earnings.
The verdict makes one of the largest slip-and-fall cases in Florida’s history.
Seven Restaurants filed a motion for a new trial, claiming Tulecki’s legal team provided “virtually no evidence” that the restaurant staff was made aware of the state of the bathroom’s conditions at the time.
Entrepreneur has reached out to Burger King for comment.
