Mʏᴇʀs & Cᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ
The Plastic Snare: An (Unusual) Trip And Fall Story
We represented a fantastic octogenarian.
Before law school I didn’t know what the term “octogenarian” meant. Now I don't know how I got by without it in my vocabulary.
(It means someone in their 80s.)
She took a shortcut through a shopping center. She walked past a store. Like lots of big box retailers it had merchandise stored on pallets in front.
One of the pallets had plastic partially removed (so that the product could be accessed by customers).
As our client passed the pallet the wind blew. The plastic from the pallet blew out and got tangled on her foot. She fell and broke her hip and wrist.
The owner of the store (or, actually, the insurance company for the store) argued that the hazard was open and obvious.
The idea that a hazard was "open and obvious" may raise some questions about comparative fault. But I sure don't think it gets the business owner off the hook.
And, more importantly, how in the world could plastic (that should have been removed) be open and obvious when it blew out in front of our client just before it tangled around her feet and tripped her?
Apparently the insurance company didn’t have a lot of faith in this defense and settled the case for a confidential figure that made our client and her family very happy.
I think the reason this case worked out so well was the number of photos our client and her family supplied. The photos really showed what life was like before the fall and also communicated to the insurance company that our client was loved and supported by her family. Two claps for both our client and her family for providing us with so much ammunition!