EL CAJON — An East County jury awarded $261,000 in damages to an El Cajon woman who was seriously injured when she slipped and fell in a common area of Parkway Plaza Mall and McDonald’s restaurant.

Thomas Penfield, a partner with San Diego-based Casey Gerry Reed & Schenk, represented Margaret Wahlen, 48, in the case against McDonald's and Parkway Plaza's owner's, the Westfield Corporation.

According to Penfield, as the result of the fall, Wahlen underwent four painful surgeries, one to her shoulder and three to her right knee. "The jury determined that the accident was due to negligence on the part of both the mall and the restaurant," Penfield said. "Water trailed from McDonald’s onto the mall’s dark terrazzo tile and was virtually invisible."

Penfield said the jury found that Parkway Plaza had not taken the necessary steps to make its flooring more slip resistant, even though it knew terrazzo tile was extremely dangerous when wet.

Penfield said that a jury trial was made necessary when both McDonald's and Parkway Plaza refused to pay his client's medical bills.

"Following multiple surgeries and 123 physical therapy sessions, she still has difficulty walking," Penfield said.