North Pole man loses lawsuit appeal
Published Sunday, September 7, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — A 330-pound man who was hurt when his chair gave out in an attorney’s office lost a four-year legal battle against the lawyer last week.
The case, between Charles “Spud” Burnett of North Pole and Fairbanks attorney Ken Covell, ended Aug. 29 when the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s decision to dismiss the case.
“I’m really disappointed,” said Burnett, a 63-year-old former truck driver. “It was an old rotten chair. It just finally gave.”
The chair collapsed during a May 2002 meeting. Burnett had accompanied a friend to speak to Covell about a reckless driving charge. Burnett said the meeting was to fire Covell.
“He was sitting in a chair, and the chair just collapsed underneath him,” Covell said. “I asked him if he was hurt, and he said he was OK.”
Burnett had been in the office once before and said he took for granted that the chairs were sturdy.
“I was so mad when it happened, and I so gritted my teeth,” Burnett said. “I just kept my mouth shut.”
The chair in question was made of glued-together wood with a vinyl cushion. It had been in use since before 1986.
Burnett and his lawyer, Ken Jacobus, agree Burnett’s weight probably contributed to the chair’s destruction. But that doesn’t mean it was Burnett’s fault, they said.
“Even 330-pound people are entitled to safe chairs when they come to visit some businesses,” Jacobus said.
Burnett said he landed on one of his legs and eventually had to have knee surgery.
“It just ticked me off,” he said. “You go in and you pay big money for an attorney, and a chair collapses.”
Covell put the incident out of his mind until Jacobus called him more than a year later.
The lawyers are friends from when Jacobus lived in Fairbanks while working for Jay Rabinowitz, the former Alaska Supreme Court Justice who died of leukemia in 2001.
“Ken called me in advance and said, ‘Hi, how are you? I have good news and bad news.’ I said, ‘OK, lay it on me.’ Ken said, ‘I am going to be a guest at your house for dinner.’ I replied, ‘OK, Ken, now give me the good news.’”
Covell paused for effect.
“Ken told me that was it. I said, ‘OK, what’s the bad news?’ He said, ‘I am suing you.’”
Burnett sued Covell for reimbursement for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering.
“I had a bill, and I was hurt,” Burnett said.
Covell is no stranger to negligence lawsuits. He represented a woman who was hurt after a fall on a patch of ice outside the Carlson Center in 2002.
“What goes around comes around, I guess,” Covell said.
An attorney for Covell’s insurance company handled the case. For his part, Covell checked the sturdiness of other chairs in his office.
“I grabbed ahold of them all by the arms and shook them and rattled them to see if they were sound.”
Covell also bought two new chairs. He harbors no ill will toward Burnett.
“I wish him well,” Covell said.
Burnett said he is down to 290 pounds.
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Careful now or i'll park my 310 on you!
If you are carrying 330 lbs of weight around... of coarse you are going to need knee surgery... it can't be proved it was directly related to the fall... when you walked independently out of the office! What a waste of time for everyone involved!
proven...
Should we tax him per pound, andjustice4all? Whatta ya think?
Dana what's up... I am not sure when I offened you... maybe back in the abortion posts acouple months ago... but I actually had more of a problem with the first posters reference to over weight individuals.... Get off my back lady... because we probably have a lot more in common than you think! If you feel you need to get something off your chest feel free to email me via my log in.... I would openly like to clarify what ever is upsetting you with my comments!
hahhahahaha, I am 5'8 240 (gained weight after I quit tobacco this year) and if chairs start breaking under me, i'm definitely going to focus more on losing weight. I can't stand that a lawyer won, but i'm happy a bullsh@t lawsuit lost.
I hear you can hurt yourself crawling in and out of dumpsters to.
Must have been Dick,s favorite chair?
It has to do with weight/load distribution.... only
a fool would put his 330 lbs, on a weak and old
chair. I bet he knew it would collapse, having
sat on it before. He surmised that it would probably
collapse, if he put his full weight on it. And he
surmised correctly. To set up a lawsuit and get
back at his lawyer? A fool weighing that much
should stand and not sit on an old weak chair.
And why didn't he refuse to sit on it? From
past experiences, he probably knew it wouldn't
support his weight. A frivolous lawsuit?
You, personally, don't offend me, andjustice. I just happen to disagree with your viewpoint on occasion and comment accordingly. I'm sorry you see it as me on your back.
We probably do have a lot in common - we're both opinionated, for one. ;)
thats a lot of weight to carry around (330 lbs.) and more weight than any chair should be expected to support.
there are some excellent weight management classes here locally. you owe it to your loved ones to improove your health.
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