A Canadian tennis player has reached a settlement in her liability lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association after she slipped and fell at the 2015 U.S. Open tennis tournament that took place at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center in New York City. Eugenie Bouchard, who was once ranked among the top five tennis players in the world, slipped and fell on a wet locker room floor, leading to a head injury that prevented her from playing the rest of the season.
Speaking after the settlement was concluded, Bouchard said that she was relieved, happy, and looking forward to resuming her tennis career. A jury had earlier found in an initial trial phase of the lawsuit that the USTA bore the burden of responsibility for the slip and fall accident. The settlement came just as the trial was to proceed to the next phase, during which Bouchard would speak about the damages she suffered.
The USTA's attorney issued an official statement, noting that the tennis association wished the best to Bouchard in her future career. The incident took place in the physiotherapy room attached to the locker room at the New York tennis facility after an evening mixed doubles match at the tournament. Since the incident, her tennis career has gone downhill even though she has achieved success as a fitness model.
Whether a person injured in a slip and fall accident is an athlete in the prime of his or her career or simply someone who is shopping or going to work or school, these types of incidents can lead to serious injuries with lifelong effects, including brain injury, broken bones, and other painful consequences. Injured individuals can work with a personal injury lawyer to determine the next steps of action they can take to seek compensation for the damages they sustained as a result of the property owner's failure to prevent hazardous conditions.