Trial Victory: Slip & Fall Analysis Leads to Favorable Verdict
The Problem
The project was a single family residence rented by the owner to a tenant who allegedly tripped over the door threshold walking from the house into the garage. The tenant sustained injuries to her leg, ankle, and foot. The property owner and property manager were sued based on the tenant's attorney and expert allegations that it was an "egress door," and that the threshold was improper, installed incorrectly, and that it had not been properly maintained.
The Solution
PFCS was hired by the attorney for the owner and property manager to evaluate the complaints and offer our opinions.
We conducted a forensic investigation including physical inspection on-site where we documented the doorway and surrounding conditions with photographs, field notes, and diagrams. We then researched building codes and determined that those cited by plaintiff’s expert, a civil engineer, were inapplicable, as they referred to the door as an "egress doorway," not a doorway between a home and garage. A doorway from a house to a garage cannot be considered an emergency egress doorway, as the emergency egress doorway must connect directly to the exterior. In addition, plaintiff’s expert cited codes for commercial construction, not residential, so his citations were not applicable. Further, photographs show the threshold solidly and properly installed, sealed on three sides, and could not move in the way plaintiff described.
Ultimately, the parties could not come to terms in mediation so we were called to testify in deposition and trial. The jury returned a 100% defense verdict after only 30 minutes of deliberation, in favor of the owner and property manager, and the plaintiff received nothing.
