Premises Liability

Court/Case No: Wayne County Circuit Court/16-012944-NO

Tried/Argued Before: Judge

Demand: $800,000.00

Verdict: $0 - Motion for Summary Disposition granted

Name of Judge(s): Honorable Dan Ryan

Keys to the Case:

Plaintiff filed this lawsuit alleging serious and permanent injuries resulting in lost wages and future earning capacity in the amount of $800,000.00 after he claimed that he was struck in the head by a vinyl garage door on Defendant’s premises. Defendant filed a Motion for Summary Disposition based on lack of notice and the open and obvious defense and the trial court granted the Motion based on notice.

Defendant was a hazardous and nonhazardous waste treatment facility. Plaintiff was a truck driver who came to Defendant’s premises at least 3 times per day, 6 days per week, for several years before the incident to pick up treated waste and transfer it to a dump site. On the date of the accident, Plaintiff walked under a vinyl garage door that was not meant for pedestrian traffic to enter a building on Defendant’s premises and was struck in the head by the door as he walked back under it to exit the building a few seconds later.

The door in question was equipped with numerous safety features to prevent this type of accident from occurring and all of those safety features were working properly up to and at the time of the accident. Defendant maintained that Plaintiff was injured because he circumvented those safety measures by “ducking under” the door and attempting to exit the building while the door was coming down. Defendant asserted that it had no notice of a defect or safety hazard with the door and that Plaintiff had presented no evidence of negligence. The trial court dismissed the case because it found Defendant had no notice of any dangerous condition that existed relative to the door.

Defense SW attorney(s) Involved in Case: