Ruiz & Smart represented a woman who suffered devastating spinal injuries after falling on crumbling, ice-covered stairs at her apartment complex in rural Washington. What began as a premises liability case ultimately turned on sophisticated insurance-law strategy—specifically, the firm’s command of Washington covenant judgments and excess exposure law.
The property owners and their insurer were aware for years that the stairway serving the plaintiff’s unit was structurally unsound. Concrete was visibly deteriorating, rebar was exposed, and the stairs had been identified as unsafe well before the incident. Despite this knowledge, repairs were deferred, and no meaningful effort was made to address icy conditions on the morning of the fall.
The consequences for the plaintiff were life-altering. She sustained a thoracic vertebral fracture that required extensive medical treatment, left her permanently disabled, and ended her ability to work. Her injuries also triggered cascading health consequences, including chronic pain and severe depression. The human toll was profound—and well documented.
Ruiz & Smart pursued the case aggressively and early recognized that the insurer’s exposure far exceeded the available liability coverage. The plaintiff made a clear opportunity to resolve the case within policy limits. When that offer was rejected, the firm pivoted decisively.
Drawing on deep experience with Washington insurance law, Ruiz & Smart laid out the insurer’s escalating risk: a substantial excess verdict, followed by assignment-based claims arising from a covenant judgment. In post-mediation correspondence, the firm detailed why a trial verdict would likely exceed policy limits and how the insured property owners could protect themselves through a stipulated judgment and covenant not to execute—leaving the insurer exposed to the full consequences of its decision-making.
That leverage changed the case.
Faced with a well-supported damages record, adverse liability evidence, and a clear roadmap to excess exposure, the insurer ultimately agreed to resolve the matter for seven figures. The settlement provided meaningful compensation to the injured plaintiff while avoiding the years of additional litigation that would have followed a verdict and bad faith action.
This result reflects Ruiz & Smart’s approach to insurance cases: combining meticulous factual development with a precise understanding of how insurers evaluate—and sometimes misjudge—risk. When carriers refuse reasonable resolutions, the firm is prepared to use every lawful tool available to protect clients and hold insurers accountable.