CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Ramzy Ladah delivering his opening statement
Las Vegas, NV - A Nevada state court jury heard opening statements Wednesday in a long-running premises liability lawsuit filed by a man claiming a slip on a wet marble casino floor left him with back injuries requiring millions of dollars in medical treatment, and the full trial is being webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Attorney Ramzy Ladah of Ladah Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, representing plaintiff Jesse Lozano, told the Clark County jury the Paris Las Vegas Resort and Casino is responsible for injuries Lozano suffered in 2018. He accused the casino of failing to keep up adequate maintenance sweeps to notice the spill, however the casino argues no evidence exists to prove why Lozano actually fell, and that his back injuries are largely the result of a pre-existing condition.
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Ladah explained how in 2018 Lozano, then 60, was walking back through the main thoroughfare of the casino after seeing a show with his family. He claimed Lozano suddenly slipped in a puddle of liquid on the marble floor, supposedly demonstrated by his wet clothes after being helped up.
Ladah argued no casino employee could testify how long the liquid was on the ground because before the incident they allegedly didn’t maintain a regular maintenance rotation schedule. He also argued the casino had full control of the facility so the blame couldn’t be be shifted to a third party or other entity.
“They admitted it’s their property, their area,” Ladah told the jury. “They’re responsible for it. Not anyone else.”
Ladah told jurors Lozano and his family reported the puddle and fall to casino staff but were never asked to fill out a formal accident report or provide any documentation about the incident.
Lozano didn’t seem to be in immediate distress but sought medical attention days later when his back pain failed to resolve. He was subsequently diagnosed with a cervical injury that Ladah told jurors required numerous injections and ablations, nerve stimulator implants and surgery, with past and future medical expenses likely exceeding $2 million.
Ladah didn’t ask for a specific amount of non-economic damages, but he highlighted a supposed significant reduction in Lozano’s quality of life, and he urged jurors not to limit a potential award because of his age.
“Many people would say the less time we have left in life the more valuable that time is,” Ladah argued.
Representing the casino, attorney Justin Smerber of Brandon Smerber Law Firm told jurors there is simply not enough evidence to prove how the spill happened, but he strongly suggested the liquid could have come from an open beer in Lozano’s hand and a flask in his back pocket.
Smerber argued the casino had a regular maintenance plan that was standard for the industry, and that a lack of the specific porter rotation schedule referenced by Ladah didn’t mean the casino failed to monitor for spills.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Justin Smerber delivering his opening statement
However he focused the bulk of his opening statement on the alleged dearth of of specifics surrounding Lozano’s fall, noting there would be no actual evidence in trial that there was liquid on the floor before Lozano slipped.
“No one in this case saw any liquid on the ground before Mr. Lozano fell,” Smerber emphasized, suggesting the liquid easily could have come from the open beer and flask, though Ladah told jurors the flask likely broke open in the fall.
Smerber noted that Lozano refused contact information from numerous people who allegedly saw him fall, and that despite supposedly reporting the spilled liquid to staff never asked to fill out an incident report or made any efforts himself to document the scene.
“There is no record of how this happened,” he stated. “Zero.”
Smerber acknowledged Lozano’s lengthy history of back problems, but he attributed those to degenerative issues predating the fall, noting that he’d already been under the care of the chiropractor he eventually went to when his pain failed to resolve.
Given the dispute over liability and the extent of Lozano’s injuries, the trial is expected to take nearly three weeks to complete and heavily rely on expert witness testimony. CVN’s gavel-to-gavel coverage will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned Jesse Lozano v. Paris Hotel And Casino, case number A-20-823179-C in Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
