Maria Torres was a regular customer at the Fred Meyer in Southeast Portland’s Hawthorne district when she picked up a bunch of bananas, walked across the store and suddenly slipped on water dripping from a leaky roof.
The 71-year-old hit her head hard on the floor, suffering a concussion and leaving her with persistent headaches, ringing in her ears and balance problems that sometimes require her to make use of a walker or a wheelchair, she said.
So-called slip-and-fall cases are common in Oregon. But what followed — Torres filed a $36 million lawsuit against the chain — stood out. One of her attorneys, Jason Kafoury, said it’s the largest amount he’s ever seen sought in a slip-and-fall case. But he contended it’s also warranted given what he argued has been a decades-old problem of roof leaks from the parking deck that comprises the ceiling of the store…