Joe Yates
A woman has been awarded millions of dollars in damages after a canopy fell on her while she attended her son's wedding.
Janet Davis was left with permanent injuries when a 87-pound chuppah, a wedding canopy traditionally used in Jewish marriage ceremonies, toppled over and struck her on the neck and back.
The freak accident, which happened in 2021, left her concussed. Upon waking up, she discovered that she had also developed tinnitus following damage to her inner left ear, and spinal injuries.
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Janet had approached her son and daughter-in-law to congratulate them after they performed the 'breaking of the glass' ceremony - and it was at this point that it fell over.
Her attorney Marc McCallister explained that it is thought that, at some point, someone knocked into the chuppah, which caused it to fall.
The 55-year-old subsequently took the 'kosher wedding venue' Ateres Ayala, Luxe Catering, and Jose Vargas Ortega to court, reaching a settlement last month of $2.3 million between them.
Ateres Ayala and Luxe Catering failed to secure the chuppah, which was designed and created by Ortega.
The venue forked out $550,000 for its part in the failings, and Ortega was billed $10,000 for its design flaw.
Meanwhile, Luxe Catering, who bought and assembled the chuppah, paid the remaining $1.74 million in damages.
The court case saw both Janet and Edward Davis represented as the injured parties.
Attorney Timothy Cavanagh, who is defending the pair, said: “Their son’s wedding was supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives. Instead, it turned into a tragedy for Janet and her family that was easily preventable and never should have happened.
“If this case went to trial, we were prepared to present video of the collapse and unrebutted testimony that Ateres and Luxe’s failure to secure the chuppah in a structurally sound condition properly was the cause of the chuppah collapse.
"Had Ateres and Luxe properly secured the chuppah, it would not have collapsed, Janet Davis’ injuries would have been avoided and the family would have enjoyed a beautiful wedding celebration.”
Janet's medical bills totalled $325,000, with injuries to her ear and spine being permanent.
Ortega's attorney Peter Stamatis said: "We are glad the case was resolved. It was an unfortunate occurrence."
Tragically, the judge that mediated the case, William Gomolinski, passed away in September shortly after all parties reached a resolution.
“It was a real privilege to work with him,” Stamatis added.