In November 2017, our client was traversing a parking lot that had not been properly maintained and tripped on a heaved crack that the owners of the building were aware of, but had simply elected not to repair it. Our client fell and suffered significant injuries. In that case, we were able to show that the owner of the parking lot knew about the crack, knew that it was significantly raised and did nothing to warn patrons about the hazard.
The end result was our client was seriously injured and we were very successful at trial on her behalf, obtaining a sizeable verdict.
The insurance company lawyers defending the owner of the parking lot originally argued that she was carrying bags and tripped over them, not the crack in the parking lot. Then we obtained a video showing that she had no bags.
Then the insurance company lawyers argued that she wasn’t looking where she was going. In response, we pointed out that where she tripped while crossing the parking lot was a traffic lane. To be safe, she was required to have her head up and looking for cars – not watching her feet. If you’re looking down at your feet in the parking lot, you run the risk of being hit by another motorist or you are going to run into an obstruction.
We contended that she was being a proper, safe pedestrian in the parking lot by having her head up and being aware of her surroundings and looking out for cars. The jury agreed and found the store 100% at fault, and our client 0% at fault.
