Attorneys for a 42-year-old delivery man who fell on a sheet of ice and injured his neck at the Brookfield Square have secured an $890,000 settlement.

One of his lawyers said Thursday that a deposition by landscaper Mike Mattson, who described conditions at the property, helped seal the case.

German Perez was delivering furniture to Bassett Furniture in February 2015 when he fell on the ice at the back of the building. He filed an amended lawsuit in Waterbury Superior Court in September 2017.

Plaintiffs lawyer Brian Flood said the area where Perez fell had a three-day accumulation of ice, and should have been cordoned off.

“There was ice on the roof of the building and there were ice dams forming,” said Flood, managing partner of The Flood Law Firm in Middletown. “The ice dams were also forming on the ground and were not going down the drain.”

The landscaper said he had been working to remove them.

“He said he was there every day, both morning and night, for three days,” Flood said. “But the situation with the ice was getting worse.”

The prudent thing would have been to put up a warning sign, but the defendants never did, according to Flood.

Perez had worked for Bethel-based NEHD Logistics, but his attorney said he had to quit his job. He now owns two food trucks. His attorney said the incident limited his range of motion and caused ongoing pain. He had two herniated discs, required neck surgery, and had $91,166 in medical bills.

In a case with three defendants, the biggest obstacle was assigning liability.

Perez sued Brookfield-based strip mall Brookfield Square, Basset Furniture and Mike's Lawn Maintenance. His attorney argued Brookfield Square should have known ice was forming and should have addressed it. He said Basset Furniture should not have directed Perez to the back of the store in the dark for a delivery at 7:30 p.m. As for Mike's Lawn Maintenance, the suit sought to hold it liable as the contractor hired to remove the snow.

The parties settled the case April 3 in mediation with Michael Riley, of Pullman & Comley in Hartford.

They split the $890,000 settlement: Brookfield Square's insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., paid $450,000; Mike's Lawn Maintenance's carrier, Main Street America Group, covered $400,000; and Bassett Furniture, which is self-insured, paid the remaining $40,000. They're set to disburse the settlement funds within a week.

Perez “was very satisfied with the settlement,” Flood said. “He has gone through a lot, and he preferred to settle this amicably, rather than go through a trial.”

Brookfield Square was represented by Steve Learey of Wallingford-based Meehan, Roberts, Turret & Rosenbaum. Mike's Lawn Maintenance was represented by Paul Rainville of Hartford-based Hassett & Donnelly. Bassett Furniture was represented by Kevin Kratzer of Boyle Shaughnessy & Campo in Hartford. None of the attorneys responded to a request for comment Thursday.