An Orange County jury delivered one of the largest premises liability verdicts in Florida history this week, awarding $644,751,855.08 to a man who fell down a dangerous staircase at a Winter Park bar in 2017 and was left partially quadriplegic.
The verdict, returned against the owners of Park Social, a second-floor bar in Winter Park, sends a forceful message about property owner accountability when unsafe conditions go unaddressed.
What Happened at Park Social
In November 2017, a 57-year-old man was leaving Park Social, a bar located on the second story of a building constructed in 1926 in Winter Park, Florida. To exit, he had to descend a flight of approximately 20 stairs.
He fell.
The injuries were catastrophic. According to Morgan & Morgan, the law firm that represented him, the man sustained multiple fractures to his neck and skull. He now has no feeling from the chest down and essentially no movement in his arms, legs, or torso. He also permanently lost his senses of taste and smell.
He will never work again.
The Staircase: What the Jury Heard
At trial, attorneys for the plaintiff focused the jury's attention squarely on the physical conditions of the staircase itself.
According to Morgan & Morgan's post-verdict release, the evidence showed the stairs were too narrow, too steep, and lacked grip tape on the treads. The handrails, attorneys argued, were inadequate for a stairway that served as the bar's only exit.
The bar was operating inside a building nearly 100 years old at the time of the incident. The condition of the staircase, plaintiff's counsel argued, reflected a deliberate prioritization of convenience over patron safety.
Morgan & Morgan attorney Brian McClain, who handled the case out of the firm's Orlando office, spoke to the full scope of what the plaintiff lost: "Our client's injuries altered his life completely and permanently. He didn't just lose his mobility, but also his identity. This was a man that lived for the simple joys of gardening and cooking, passions that were ripped away from him the moment he stepped on those stairs."
How the $644 Million Verdict Breaks Down
The Orange County jury's award was itemized across four categories:
- $166 million for past pain and suffering
- $363 million for future pain and suffering
- $109.5 million awarded to the plaintiff's wife for loss of consortium and services
- $6,251,855 for medical expenses and lost earnings
The defendants, Soho WP and BE-1 Concept Holdings, which owned and operated Park Social at the time of the incident, bore the full weight of the verdict.
The nearly $640 million allocated to pain and suffering, both past and future, reflects what the jury concluded about the permanent, total, and life-altering nature of the plaintiff's condition. Loss of consortium claims, which compensate a spouse for the loss of companionship and partnership, are sometimes treated as secondary in verdict coverage, but the $109.5 million awarded to the plaintiff's wife underscores how thoroughly this injury dismantled an entire family's life.
Morgan and Morgan's Personal Connection to the Case
Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan issued a statement after the verdict that went beyond the legal outcome.
"My brother, Tim, lived his life as a quadriplegic after a tragic accident, so I have seen firsthand how an injury like this drastically and permanently changes a person's and their family's lives," Morgan said.
The statement reflects something that often gets lost in large-verdict coverage: behind every catastrophic injury case is a real person whose life was subdivided into before and after by a single moment.
Why This Verdict Matters Beyond Florida
Florida premises liability law holds property owners and operators responsible for maintaining reasonably safe conditions for guests and patrons. When a commercial establishment opens its doors to paying customers, particularly in a space that requires navigating a staircase, the duty to maintain safe egress is not optional.
This verdict will be studied. A staircase that is too narrow, too steep, and missing basic safety features like grip tape and adequate handrails is not an obscure hazard. It is a documented, preventable condition. The jury's willingness to hold the bar's ownership accountable for the full scope of the plaintiff's lifetime losses, including future pain and suffering projected across decades of paralysis, reflects how seriously Florida juries can treat premises liability failures when the evidence is clear.
For plaintiff attorneys tracking verdict trends in premises liability and Florida personal injury cases, this outcome is a significant data point.
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