The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment in a supermarket slip and fall case. The plaintiff slipped on green grapes that had fallen on the floor in the produce section of a Kroger grocery store. The store clerk in the produce section was stocking red grapes on the opposite side of the island from the green grapes. Kroger trains its employees to inspect for fallen items and to clean them up immediately. The store clerk admitted that he should have seen the green grapes on the floor. The court held that a reasonable jury could find that the clerk had breached the standard of care and was therefore negligent because he was in the area 10 minutes before the fall, should have noticed the grapes, and should have removed them.
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Richmond area theme parks should take notice of a recent
article in the
Orlando Sentinel. The vast majority of law suits brought against Florida theme parks are related to injuries suffered from
slip and fall accidents. Theme parks offer so many services (transportation, dining, shopping, animal shows, live entertainment, and mechanical attractions) to thousands of people every day that it is no surprise injuries arise during the course of business. Nonetheless, the large jury verdicts and settlement amounts awarded in successful claims for
slip and fall injuries will likely grab the attention of Ashland's
King's Dominion and Williamsburg's
Busch Gardens.
An injured
IKEA shopper received good news from a
Fairfax County jury today. The jury returned a
verdict of $3.2 Million in favor of the plaintiff in a
premises liability lawsuit arising from injuries the shopper suffered when vertically stacked eight-foot-long countertops, secured only by a bungee cord, fell on her. Two surgeries left the injured shopper with
damages of $75,000 in medical bills, $50,000 in lost wages, and permanent disabilities.
The shopper must be glad she did not settle the matter, as IKEA's highest offer prior to trial was $220,000.