OTLA Trial Lawyer Summer 2021

20 Trial Lawyer • Summer 2021 By Ralph Wiser OTLA Guardian B ill had been a letter carrier for over 30 years. On an overcast day in November he delivered mail to a Port- land residence by climbing 12 stairs to a porch. He then deposited the mail in a slot in the front door. As he climbed the stairs, he noticed decorative mats on each Ralph Wiser step. As he descended, he put his right hand out to grasp the rail and stepped onto the first mat with his left foot. The mat shot out in front of him and he crumpled on the stairs, bouncing down each stair as the mats shot out before him. He was stopped by the concrete landing at the base of the stairs. He noticed right away that his back, leg and foot hurt. He got up, hobbled to a nearby coffee shop and called his su- pervisor. His supervisor told him to finish what little was left of his route. The supervisor took note of the accident and later viewed the staircase. He tried to contact the owner of the residence in person, but was not successful. Bill filed a federal workers’ compensa- tion claim (Office of Workers’ Compen- sation Program or OWCP) and missed a great deal of work. Several months later, he tried to return, but it was too much strain on him and his orthopedist took him off work again. When the OWCP told Bill that he needed to file a third party claim against the homeowner, he contacted his union. His union referred him to me. Delivery day I met Bill for the first time at the staircase several days later to inspect the stairs, to hear a more detailed account of his fall and to learn a little bit more about him. The stairs were adjacent to a side- walk, which was lined by trees. The tree canopy was above the staircase. In the fall, leaves dropped onto the stairs, leav- ing an organic substance as they decayed. The home owner had not anchored the decorative mats to any of the stairs. When it rained, the organic decay be- came slippery. It had rained earlier in the day on which Bill was injured. Bill lived in Hillsboro with his wife and three older children. He had been trained as a chemist but got a job as a letter carrier shortly after college in Ha- waii. He liked the sunshine and the physicality of walking a route, carrying the mail in a leather satchel and deliver- ing it. No two days were the same, he said. In fact, Bill did not have a regular route he was assigned to. Instead, he did a different route every day to fill in for the regular letter carrier on that route who was taking a day off. He had deliv- ered mail to this address before, but never had a problem. He had fallen several times before delivering the mail, STEPS TO A STAIRCASE CASE