Naples council to pay to settle cases to two people who were hurt in falls

Naples has agreed to pay $50,000 to two people who injured themselves after they tripped and fell in the city.

The Naples City Council on Wednesday approved paying Veglia Mollo of Rhode Island $35,000, which includes attorney fees and costs, to settle her claim.

The council also approved paying $15,000 to settle the case of Marie Lawlor, who has a home in Naples.

The vote came after Risk Manager Lori Parsons met with Mayor Bill Barnett, City Manager Bob Lee and City Attorney Bob Pritt, who discussed the merits of the claims and the option of settling, says Lee’s memo to council.

Risk management records give the following accounts:

Mollo, who was 59 at the time of her fall, was in Naples visiting for the holidays on Dec. 26, 2002, and parked her vehicle in the public parking area at Broad Avenue South and Third Street South. After attending holiday festivities on Third Street, she was returning to her vehicle, when she tripped and fell over a broken parking block.

She suffered bruises, cuts, a closed head injury, detached retina, and damage to her teeth. She was treated and released from North Collier Hospital and continued treatment in Rhode Island, totaling about $11,000 in medical bills. Mollo, a school psychologist, didn’t miss time off work because the fall occurred on winter break.

Lawlor, who was 73 when she fell, was walking north on the west end of a sidewalk on Gulf Shore Boulevard North when she tripped and fell on a raised, uneven section at 3115 Gulf Shore Blvd. N. She broke her left wrist in two places, which required surgery and months of physical therapy — a total of $25,718 in medical bills.