$2.1 Million Verdict After Ice Fall Causes Permanent Vision Loss at Denver Storage Facility

In February 2018, George Hodge visited a storage unit he leased through his forensic investigative firm at a facility owned and managed by Matrix Group, Inc. and Waterpark II & III, LLC. A patch of ice on the property sent him to the ground, and the impact caused a complete retinal detachment in his right eye.

Hodge worked as a fire and products liability investigator, a profession that depends heavily on close visual examination of physical evidence. The injury left him with no useful vision in the affected eye, directly limiting his ability to perform the work that formed the core of his livelihood.

Bachus & Schanker attorney Corey Holton took the case to trial in Denver District Court. A central dispute involved Hodge's economic losses: because Hodge operated through his own company, Hodge Services, defense counsel moved to block evidence of the firm's lost profits. Judge Christopher Baumann denied the motion, allowing Holton to present that corporate profit data as a reflection of Hodge's own earning capacity rather than a standalone business-loss claim.

The jury returned a verdict of approximately $2.1 million in total damages. The jury also allocated fault, finding the property owners 35 percent responsible, Hodge 40 percent responsible, and Hodge Services 25 percent responsible as a non-party. After applying the comparative fault percentages, the final judgment entered against the defendants was $752,500.

Matrix Group and Waterpark appealed, targeting the evidentiary ruling that allowed the business profit evidence. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in January 2022, holding that the district court had not abused its discretion because the corporate profits reflected Hodge's personal income, making them proper evidence of lost earning capacity.

Law Week Colorado recognized the verdict among its Top Verdicts for 2020.