Multi-defendant claim settled before trial

We acted for a man injured in an accident in Lake Garda, Italy. He and his wife were taking an evening stroll around the harbour at Riva del Garda, looking at the boats moored there. In the middle of the promenade, there were steps cut out, leading down to the shore of the lake. However, there was no railing around these steps, no sign warning of their existence and very limited lighting, making the steps very difficult to see. Our client fell down the steps, landing on the rocks below. He sustained a broken wrist, dislocated index finger, a small fracture to his skull and concussion.

The identification of the defendant was difficult, with the local province claiming that maintenance of the area was the responsibility of the local municipality, and the local municipality claiming that it was the responsibility of a private company, which had been subcontracted. For its part, the company denied responsibility and claimed it lay with either the province or the municipality. Proceedings were issued in Italy against all three defendants. Before the matter reached a final trial, a settlement of €35,000 was agreed with all three defendants paying an equal share. We were also able to recover the outlay incurred by our client's travel insurer.

Return to case studies