Defense Verdict Granted in Premises Liability Action

January 1, 2005

Russell S. Wollman, Pamela J. Marantz and Tina Varjian successfully defended a premises liability case involving a slip and fall accident occurring at an Inn.

Plaintiff allegedly slipped on a piece of loose carpeting and, falling down two flights of stairs and injuring his shoulder, knee and back.  Plaintiff claimed he required surgery on his right shoulder, neck and left knee due to the fall.  His medical expenses totalled $10,000 and estimated future medical expenses would total $50,000 to $75,000.  Plaintiff claimed that the Inn should have known about the dangerous condition and fixed the problem. 

The case was defended on two theories: (1) that plaintiff did not offer any notice of the alleged accident and; (2) the alleged incident probably did not occur.  During the trial, a witness testified that she had seen plaintiff lay down at the top of the stairs just prior to this accident occurring. 

The defense presented medical records proving that plaintiff’s knee, shoulder, neck and back injuries existed prior to the alleged incident.  Plaintiff also testified that he had never made a claim before this accident and had never been on disability.  Records were uncovered, which showed that plaintiff had been on disability multiple times prior to this incident and filed prior worker’s compensation claims.

The jury, in a 10-2 decision, determined that there was no notice of a dangerous condition.