LAKE CHARLES -- A man who is afraid he will never be the person he once was is seeking millions after a slip-and-fall at a Louisiana casino.
Gary Durbon filed a complaint in April in Calcasieu Parish District Court against Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. and Penn National Gaming Inc. d/b/a L'Auberge Casino Resort, Lake Charles for breach/negligence and proximate cause (damages). He says he suffered an injury after slipping on an unidentified liquid while in the lobby of the casino.
According to the complaint, on June 6, 2020, an unidentified person spilled liquid on the floor of the L'Auberge Casino lobby, near the entrance. Durbon then allegedly walked through the lobby and slipped on the liquid causing him to crash into the floor and cement column near the door and hurt his back, hip, both wrists, both shoulders, knees and body in general.
Durbon seeks a judgment reasonable to compensate him for all damages and interest. Durbon is represented by Michael G. Stag of Stag Liuzza LLC.
The defendant on May 5 removed the case to federal court, attaching demands from the plaintiff's lawyers that say Durbon has had spinal fusion surgery as a result of the fall.
They say he still owes more than $220,000 in medical bills and is entitled to $227,000 in past non-economic damages.
The lawyers are also making a play for $2.6 million in future noneconomic damages for the roughly 27 more years Durbon is calculated to live. Among the damages is $2,500 per month for humiliation.
"Mr. Durbon is not the man he once was," the demand says. "He will likely never regain the pride he had in his physical abilities."