Matson v. Oregon Arena Corporation

Year of Settlement: 2008

Attorney(s) of Record: Don Corson, Philip Gilbert

Type of Case: Premises Liability

Nature of Injury: Severe Injury

Case Details:

In December 2002, a 38-year-old Vancouver, WA woman was sitting in a smokers lounge in the Rose Garden Arena, when she fell over forty feet to the ground, breaking ribs, her pelvis, her arms, and her shoulder blade. A half-wall ended abruptly behind a railing where fans routinely sat. There were no warning signs of the danger. The area was so badly lit that fans couldn't see where the ledge dropped off. The arena's safety committee was told 10 months before the accident it was a matter of not 'if" but "when" someone would fall off one of the terraces.

After that, the arena added prominent red warning signs on other levels that were restricted to people using private suites or for those paying over $100 a ticket, but not on the level used by the general public. An arena safety committee member testified he asked management to install safety fencing, but the request was ignored.

The woman has already had over $1 million in medical expenses, and has an anticipated $2 million in medical expenses in the future. She walks with a cane. She can no longer bear children. She cannot stand to work more than 4 hours a day.