Premises Liability

Mar 14, 2016

Man slipped on ice while leaving restaurant, hurt ankle

The injured was a 32-year-old married father who slipped and fell while exiting a restaurant. The gentleman slipped on a nearly invisible patch of ice that had formed as the result of snow melting from the roof and re-freezing on the sidewalk. As a result of the fall, he suffered a bimalleolar fracture to his […]

Feb 16, 2016

Store Employee Faces Claim for Cart Injury

A plaintiff suing for injuries from being struck in the head by a shopping cart pushed by a Food Lion employee alleges an affirmative act of negligence by the employee and may sue both the employee and the store; because the employee was not fraudulently joined, the Norfolk U.S. District Court finds there is not […]

Feb 16, 2016

Employee Who Created Hazard Can Be Sued

A store security guard who slipped in a substance on the store floor can sue the store supervisor as well as the store, based on allegations that the supervisor moved a leaking generator across the store, knowing that it was leaking, and after plaintiff’s fall, said she had planned to clean up the spill but […]

Feb 1, 2016

Shopper struck by falling Christmas tree boxes at Big Lots – Defendant’s motion for summary judgment granted

Plaintiff claimed boxed artificial Christmas trees were improperly stacked, fell from a shelf and struck her in the head at the Big Lots store in Fredericksburg on Dec. 8, 2012. Plaintiff, who was 25 years old and five months pregnant at the time, was shopping with her 5-year-old son when one or two 22-pound boxes […]

Jan 25, 2016

Plaintiff fell near cooking oil drums on restaurant premises – $450,000 Settlement

On April 15, 2011, plaintiff went to dinner for her birthday at The Isaacs Restaurant (owned and operated by Memorial Holdings, LLC). She and her companion used the rear customer entrance to enter and exit. Leaving the restaurant, plaintiff took several steps from the rear door and turned left to walk towards the car along […]

Dec 15, 2015

Amateur race car driver crashed vehicle at public speedway event – $3,000,000 Settlement

Defendant Victory Lane operates Langley Speedway. On Oct. 2, 2011, Langley Speedway was held open to the public for various activities, including an activity in which members of the public could pay money to enjoy the experience of driving a NASCAR-style race car on a real race track. The activity was called a “Try It […]

Nov 23, 2015

4-year-old scalded when free-standing range toppled over – $3,010,000 Settlement

On Feb. 8, 2012, the plaintiff, a 4-year-old boy, was playing with another boy in the apartment rented by his family. His mother was cooking noodles on the free-standing range in the kitchen. As the boys’ mothers sat talking in the living room, the two boys ran into the kitchen and stood or leaned on […]

Oct 29, 2015

Bingo-Game Slip & Fall Goes to Trial

A woman who alleges she tripped over a white PVC pipe protruding from the ground as she walked from her car to the entrance of defendant volunteer fire department’s bingo game can try her premises liability suit alleging inoperative lights after dark, says an Abingdon U.S. District Court. Defendant’s argument for summary judgment focuses almost […]

Oct 26, 2015

Store Says Spill Was ‘Obvious’

A Lynchburg U.S. District Court denies summary judgment to defendant Kroger store in a shopper’s suit alleging injury when she slipped and fell in a puddle on the floor as she approached a self-serve checkout station. Defendants argue vigorously that there is no dispute the spill is an open and obvious condition. Defendants highlight statements […]

Oct 6, 2015

Bar May Be Liable for Security Contractor

A plaintiff who alleges she was injured while a patron at The Palace, a Norfolk entertainment venue, by a “John Doe” employee of an independent security contractor has stated claims for negligence and vicarious liability in her amended complaint against The Palace, says a Norfolk Circuit Court. The court finds that plaintiff, by amending her […]

Oct 5, 2015

Tenant injured in Petersburg deck collapse – $950,000 Settlement

Plaintiff, a lessee in a five-unit rental property in Petersburg, went onto a second story deck through a common hallway. When he stepped through the doorway onto the deck, it immediately collapsed, causing him to fall one story and break three bones in his right ankle, which required emergency fixation surgery. This was the first […]

Sep 23, 2015

Two deck collapse cases each settle for nearly $1M

Two recent Virginia deck failure cases each resulted in recovery of nearly all of the property owners’ available $1 million policy limits. In the most recent report, a Petersburg man collected $950,000 for severe injuries suffered when he stepped onto a second-story deck that promptly collapsed. The owner’s agent allegedly regarded the rental property as […]