$3 Million Verdict for Handyman Who Lost Use of Dominant Hand After Tripping Over Hidden Wire Mesh

On the evening of March 14, 2020, Darrell Phillips arrived at a convenience store in Palm Beach County on what should have been a routine service call. The store, operated by A1A Grocery Inc. and located on property owned by Hani Enterprises, Inc., needed its beer-cooler air conditioning unit repaired. Phillips, a hired handyman, was told the call was an emergency.

After completing the repair work, Phillips walked through the grassy area behind the store to clean up. What he could not see was concrete reinforcement wire mesh lying partially obscured in the grass and on the asphalt. He caught his foot on the mesh, fell hard, and fractured his humerus. The fall also tore the radial nerve running through his dominant arm. The nerve damage proved irreparable, leaving him with near-total permanent loss of function in that hand.

Phillips filed suit against both A1A Grocery and Hani Enterprises, arguing that neither party warned him of the hazard or took steps to remove or mark the debris before he worked on the property. The store owner, A1A, had been operating as a tenant of Hani since 2018. Both defendants denied liability.

At trial, Steinger, Greene and Feiner attorneys Neil Anthony and Brooke Grogan presented evidence on the nature of the dangerous condition and the permanent impact of the injury. The jury returned a $3 million verdict in favor of Phillips. Fault was apportioned between the two defendants, with Hani, as landlord, found 25% responsible and A1A bearing the remaining share.

Both A1A Grocery and Hani Enterprises appealed, raising procedural arguments and seeking a new trial. The consolidated appeal was docketed in Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal as cases 4D2023-1844 and 4D2023-2003, with briefing completed through mid-2024.