Tampa Bay Personal Injury Lawyer - Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall) - Most Commented

Chlorine Leak At Hotel Underscores Duty Of Management To Guests

Bob Carroll — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 04:24:40 GMT

"I'm not a chemical engineer, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

One Holiday Inn Express wishes it had hosted a chemical engineer on April 9,2004.

Jury awards $650,000 in chlorine leak case

A Mason County jury, in a 21-page verdict, on Thursday awarded nearly $650,000 total to five plaintiffs who said they suffered physical and mental damages after a chlorine leak at the Holiday Inn Express hotel on April 9, 2004.
Daryl, Jackson, Caleb, Savannah, and Melissa Bronkema sued Ferwerda Enterprises, the owner of the Holiday Inn Express on U.S. 10, alleging their negligence caused the leak.
Chlorine fumes caused breathing problems and forced the evacuation of the hotel's guests after chlorine was mixed with muratic acid used for cleaning the pool's pump. The toxic gas resulting from the mixture was confined to the pool area and caused respiratory problems for those exposed to it, the Daily News reported at the time.
The five people involved in the lawsuit accuse the company of "failing to exercise reasonable care" and of negligence in the maintenance of the pool and its equipment, the training of its employees, in failing to warn patrons of the dangers of toxic chemical exposure.

Innkeepers have an especially important duty to properly inspect and maintain their premises. Guests rely upon them to assure their safety and comfort. Because Florida is so popular as a tourist destination hundreds of thousands of tourists are sleeping each night in resorts, hotels, inns and other temporary locations in reliance upon the competence of the management and staff. Occasionally, this reliance is not warranted. In my experience, carelessness is rare, but the injuries can be permanent and disabling.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Your Swimming Pool - Make It A Safe Place

Bob Carroll — Tue, 23 May 2006 04:53:36 GMT

BrainInjury Blogs has just posted a very timely reminder about the importance of pool safety. Every summer there are Tampa Bay news reports of drownings and serious brain injuries as a result of swimming pool incidents. Most of the victims are children. The full article is well worth a read.

Swimming Pool Safety

With the approach of the memorial day weekend, it's important to focus on swimming pool safety and the prevention of drowning incidents.
Here are some tips and information on how parents and pool owners can provide a safe pool environment.
Active parent supervision is imperative when children are playing around pool areas.
When a parent of guardian is watching a child in the pool, there should be no other distractions
Teach children to swim and not dive where the water is shallow

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Teen Killed in Tiger Attack at Zoo

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:31:27 GMT

A 17-year-old boy was attacked and killed by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day. Somehow the 350-pound Siberian Tiger was able to escape from it's enclosure. The tiger attack happened shortly after the zoo closed.

Although some zoo officials speculate the threesome may have teased the tiger, San Francisco police Lt. Leroy Lindo said police currently have no reason to believe the three men taunted the animal prior to the attack, which happened shortly after the zoo's 5 p.m. closing time.
Dozens of visitors and some employees were still inside the zoo at the time.

Doctors have reported that the two other victims are expected to make a full recovery. It is unknown how the tiger escaped. The police were called and shot and killed the tiger before it could harm anyone else. The zoo also had a team searching for the escaped tiger. Last December the same tiger attacked a zoo keeper during a public feeding session.

If you would like to learn more about premises liability, please visit InjuryBoard's Property Owner's Liability information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Man Suing Wal-Mart After Slip and Fall in Restroom

Chrissie Cole — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 00:36:41 GMT

A man who alleges he suffered injuries after a slip and fall accident in a Granite City Wal-Mart restroom, has filed a lawsuit in excess of $50,000 in damages.

The lawsuit, filed August 20, in Madison County Circuit Court, alleges that on April 17, Wal-Mart allowed water to accumulate on the men's restroom floor causing him to slip-and-fall in the area he had to use.

According to the complaint, Wal-Mart negligently failed to inspect the area where the water accumulated, failed to warn of the water, failed to inspect the men's restroom which allowed water to accumulate and negligently allowed water to accumulate in the area near the men's restroom and the area Smith "had to use."

He claims the accident made him sore, sick, lame and disabled due to extensive injuries he suffered to his fingers, hip, neck, back and head.

The suit also claims his injuries caused him to experience pain and suffering in addition to excessive medical bills.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Woman Alleges she was Fired from Wal-Mart Following Slip-and-Fall Testimony

Chrissie Cole — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:18:18 GMT

A Wal-Mart employee, who testified in a slip-and-fall case, believes her testimony led to her termination. Now she is suing Wal-Mart, her former employer, for $1 million in damages.

The former employee, a witness in a personal injury case against Wal-Mart, alleges she was directed to lie under oath and commit perjury. She claims she called Wal-Mart maintenance regarding a substance on the floor, but they did not respond causing someone suffer injury when they slipped.

According to legal documents, Wal-Mart's attorney told her to say she had not called maintenance prior to the incident.

On May 11-14, she called in sick to work and claims she was given permission to miss work. When she returned ten days later, she was fired. The complaint states she was terminated for missing work without permission. But, she believes she was fired for telling the truth during her testimony.

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $1 million for lost wages, mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment.

For more information on this topic, please visit our Slip and Fall Injury section.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

New Jersery Deck Collapses Injuring Seven People

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:11:22 GMT

Eight people were standing on the second-story deck of a rental property on Long Beach Island when it collapsed. The deck collapse happened Tuesday morning. Six people were taken to the hospital to be treated for their injuries. One person was treated at the scene of the accident. The most seriously injured man has head injuries and is in serious condition.

The private detective, Alexander Esposito, who is based in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, said the deck appears to lack proper support and was attached to the home with only nails. A second deck identical to the one that fell was still attached to the home.

The police are investigating the accident. The rental home is right on the waterfront in Ship Bottom, New Jersey.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Property Owners' Liability.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Wal-Mart Sued Over Cart

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 15:36:36 GMT

A woman has filed a premises liability lawsuit against Wal-Mart due to the placement of a push/pull cart in the store. She alleges that she fell due to a push/pull cart that she could not see.

According to the suit, Wal-Mart failed to keep its aisles clear of items that could cause a fall, and the cart in question was placed in an unsafe area "adjacent to or underneath a table of plants," which could be difficult for passing customers to see.
As a result of Wal-Mart's failure to warn of the danger or remove the cart from the hazardous area, the complaint alleges, Sullivan "fell onto a push/pull cart, through no fault of her own."

The plantiff is asking for damages related to injuries sustained to her arm and shoulder. Wal-Mart has not issued a comment in the case.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Parking Lot Design Can Prevent Injuries And Deaths Of Pedestrians

Bob Carroll — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:44:28 GMT

My wife thinks I am crazy because I keep pointing out to restaurants and other businesses the dangers of having pedestrians unnecessarily exposed to wayward automobiles at take-out or pick-up locations. My concern is that an entire group of diners waiting on benches in front of the spaces reserved for take-out parking will be crushed when the inevitable happens. Well, apparently, the inevitable happened in Los Angeles. The facts are a little different, but the risk of serious injury or death was very similar.

LA Jury Awards $10 Million in Suit over School Parking Lot Crash

A Los Angeles jury has awarded $10.3 million to the family of a 6-year-old girl who was struck by a van and killed two years ago in an elementary school parking lot, determining the school district was largely responsible for the crash.
The family of Jordan Sandels filed the wrongful-death lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District, alleging the parking lot at Lanai Road Elementary School in the San Fernando Valley was not designed according to state-approved blueprints. The Superior Court jury on Tuesday agreed and determined the district had been told of possibly hazardous conditions in the parking lot prior to the Jan. 13, 2005, crash.
According to court records, Dowling, a parent at the school, was backing the van out of a handicapped parking spot when she lost control of the vehicle and it reversed. Dowling, who suffers from a debilitating illness, had lost the use of her legs. Her vehicle was equipped with a hand-controlled acceleration and brake lever.
During trial, plaintiff's attorney Mark J. Henderson argued the parking space should have been angled away from the sidewalk as designed in the school's original blueprints. Instead, he said, the parking space was positioned such that Dowling had to reverse toward the sidewalk, where the girl was walking with her father.
The van jumped the sidewalk, struck the girl, veered into the street and crashed into a car.

Proper attention to the hazards in parking lots during the design and construction process can minimize the risk of these terrible events. The danger is the same in Florida as it is in California.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Unplanned Exit From Parking Garage At Second Floor Level

Bob Carroll — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 06:49:05 GMT

See if you have the same question I do after reading this amazing story:

Woman's car plunges 40 feet

BILOXI - A Vancleave woman is thankful to be alive after plunging from the second story of a parking garage in her car. It happened at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi.
"The impact spun her vehicle around and she backed through the wall and flipped over and landed about 40 feet down," said Sgt. Jackie Rhodes with the Biloxi Police Department.
Johnson's jeep plunged backwards, falling two stories to the ground.
So, how did this happen? Casino officials say Johnson lost control of her car when she hit the gas instead of the brakes.
Unbelievably, Johnson walked away with just a few minor scratches. Police say her airbags helped save her life. Also, Johnson was wearing her seatbelt.

My question is why didn't the wall of the garage prevent the jeep from exiting the building? Isn't it reasonable to assume that sooner or later a car is going to hit the wall? If the wall is only designed to keep the rain out of the garage I do not believe it was properly designed or constructed as part of a parking garage.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

A Wet Napkin Proves The Case

Bob Carroll — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 04:03:16 GMT

Sometimes I marvel at the dangerous conditions and practices at certain businesses and how they continue for years without anyone pausing to say, "This is really not safe." A good example is this recent Florida Appeals Court Decision.

JANE IZQUIERDO v. GYROSCOPE, INC.

The appellant, Jane Izquierdo, filed a personal injury action alleging negligence by the defendant, Gyroscope, Inc., which owned and operated Giorgio's Grill. She alleges that she slipped and fell on a wet napkin, breaking her leg. The defendant denied any negligence.
At trial, the jury learned that Giorgio's was a restaurant which became a night club after certain hours. It had a tradition of both the wait staff and customers throwing paper napkins into the air as the music played throughout the evening. The napkins would land on the floor of the restaurant. No one would pick them up, although when they became too deep, customers would push them to the side. Because drinks were occasionally spilled, sometimes the napkins would be wet.
Both Izquierdo and her fiancÃ© testified that they went to the restaurant to meet a friend around midnight on the night of the incident....
Upon arriving, they sat down at one of the tables in the back of the club. The restaurant was relatively crowded. Izquierdo had one drink and then went to the restroom. On the way back from the restroom she slipped and fell, breaking her leg in the process. After she was on the ground, she observed that the floor was wet and napkins were on her shoes. Her fiancÃ© heard her scream, came running, and also observed the wet napkins on her shoes. While she did not know exactly how she slipped, she knew she slipped on something, and assumed that she slipped on the napkins. Her clothes were wet from being on the ground.
Izquierdo was in great pain and had to be carried out of the restaurant where she waited for an ambulance. She was transported to the hospital and had surgery the next day to repair her broken leg. She relied on a wheelchair for three months and continued to have pain and limitations afterward.
The testimony regarding negligence from both Izquierdo and her fiancÃ© was not conflicting nor was it impeached. More importantly, the manager of the restaurant admitted that permitting the wet napkins to remain on the floor was a hazardous condition. Although the defendant argued in closing that Izquierdo did not know how she fell, the circumstantial evidence included her testimony that she slipped, went down on a wet floor, and found napkins on her shoes. The inference that the wet napkins on the floor caused her fall clearly was the only reasonable inference which could be drawn from the facts presented. The defendant offered no contrary interpretation consistent with the facts proved.

The only good thing that can be said about the restaurant's napkin throwing tradition is it eventually provided the wet-napkins-on-the-shoes evidence which permitted the injured patron to prove her claim. Other dangerous situations do not leave such a direct trail from the slip and fall to the misconduct.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll