Barton Gilman secured a defense victory for a commercial client in a premises liability action arising from an alleged slip-and-fall incident at the client’s retail establishment. Darlene Thebaud of the firm’s Boston office obtained summary judgment in favor of the client.
In the District Court case, the plaintiff alleged that she slipped on an un treated wet spot at the store and sustained a knee sprain that could potentially require a future total knee replacement. She claimed continuing pain and partial disability, including difficulty walking and the need to use a cane when climbing stairs. Her medical expenses totaled approximately $12,000.
At her deposition, the plaintiff testified the fall happened so quickly that she did not see anything on the floor before she fell. She described the water as “dirty” and argued that this was sufficient to establish that the store had constructive notice of the condition.
Darlene argued that the record contained no evidence establishing how long the water had been on the floor or how it came to be there. The cases cited by the plaintiff involved substantially more detailed descriptions of foreign substances that provided a basis for inferring how long the substances had been present. In this case, the plaintiff could not identify any characteristics of the water that would indicate its duration on the floor.
During oral argument on the summary judgment motion, Darlene emphasized that the most recent Appeals Court decision addressing constructive notice holds that a plaintiff's claim fails as a matter of law when the record contains no evidence indicating how long an alleged wet condition existed or how it came to be on the floor. The court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of the store.
About Barton Gilman
Barton Gilman (bglaw.com) serves clients throughout the Northeast with offices in Boston, MA, Providence, RI, New York, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Milford, CT, and Fairfield, NJ offering legal services in over twenty-five service areas, including education law, employment, medical malpractice and aging services defense, professional liability defense, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, product liability and general liability, business and commercial litigation, as
well as immigration, family law, trusts and estates, criminal defense, corporate formation, intellectual property, and real estate. Committed to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Barton Gilman achieved Midsize Mansfield Certification Plus status in 2023. The firm and its attorneys have received numerous awards and accolades, including Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, Best Women-Led Law Firms, BridgeTower Media’s 2024 Best Places to Work: Law Firms
List, Best Places to Work Rhode Island, Outstanding Philanthropic Business, Common Good Award, and Super Lawyers.
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