Life is unpredictable, they say. No matter what you plan, everything can change in a split second. Sometimes, changes open the door for new opportunities, leading to development and growth. In other cases, they get us by surprise with their horrific consequences. Such an unexpected twist happened to Meghan Brown in 2015. When she was walking from her physical appointment, the 7.5-foot-tall lobby door exploded, and all the glass fell on the woman. It resulted in a permanent brain injury from shattered glass. Furthermore, it took nearly a decade for Meghan to achieve justice and win a $35M verdict.
On April 2, the New York Post wrote an article about the verdict, which caused a big resonance in society. The story has spread in various respectable media and sparked a broader conversation about justice and safety. The Guardian also emphasizes all the damage shattered glass caused in Meghan Brown’s life.
While describing the incident at 271 Madison Ave in the Manhattan Supreme Court, Brown said: “I do remember seeing glass, like, everywhere, in the lobby, near me,” the Post reports. After that, the woman’s life changed drastically. Her career as an analyst at JP Morgan slowly declined and then finished in 2021, because she couldn’t perform the tasks at a high level due to a brain injury from shattered glass. Any other try to get back to bankin
g has also failed. Additionally, Brown’s memory, focus, and language skills have suffered. The woman has PTSD, which sometimes can be unbearable in day-to-day life. Meghan’s testimony says that now she “is highly sensitive to light, has permanent headaches and neck pain, problems with her depth perception and experiences vertigo and balance issues”, states the Post. As a result, the woman had to get a service dog to help her.
Even though Meghan Brown keeps suffering from the injury, not everyone agrees with the verdict. Thomas Sofield, a lawyer for the building owners, said: “This was sort of a perfect storm of events, where you had [Brown] leaning on the door, you had the gentleman push on the door with the corner of his cellphone … It was cold out and warm in. and the force on the glass was more than it could handle.” According to Sofield, the glass shattered in a way it was supposed to, and it was just a coincidence. Tom Moore, Brown’s attorney, managed to prove him wrong. It was a neglect of the building owners as they were able to prevent the shattering from happening. Eventually, the 6-person jury awarded Brown $35,184,208 in damages. Their decision proved that business owners should take all the measures needed to protect people: employees, clients, and passers-by.
We are glad that Meghan Brown was finally able to get justice and emphasize the importance of safety around glass surfaces. Therefore, more people will now perceive shattered glass as a threat. We hope this awareness will prevent the occurance of one more brain injury from shattered glass.
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As a company that deals with glass doors and windows every day, we urge everyone to prioritize safety around glass surfaces in both public and private spaces. Consider investing in Safety and Security film for your glass doors and windows, which helps keep glass pieces together in case of damage. Our professional team is willing to help you apply it to your glass surface and answer all your questions about it. Let’s work together to ensure the safety and well-being of all.
*all photos are taken from the article by the Post
