Ashley Larson and Jackie Booker obtained a defense verdict in favor of a retailer client. Plaintiff alleged he slipped and fell on a dollar size puddle of water at a store entrance while it was raining. The retail store utilized multiple mats in its entryway vestibule, including one at the door Plaintiff walked through. Plaintiff argued the store knew, or should have known, of the dangerous condition posed by water on the floor of its entrance and that the store failed to exercise reasonable care because the number of mats at the entrance was insufficient and in violation of a company procedure. The store’s employees denied seeing water in the area where Plaintiff slipped and fell.
In closing, Plaintiff asked for $3,500,000 comprised of past and future medical expenses, past lost wages, noneconomic damages, and impairment. The jury found in favor of the retailer on the retailer’s comparative negligence defense, finding Plaintiff was 75% at fault for the slip and fall, and precluding the plaintiff’s recovery. The Court entered judgment in favor of the retailer. The jury found it persuasive that Plaintiff knew it was raining at the time of the incident, did not fully utilize the mats at the front entrance, and wore work boots without any visible tread on the bottom of the shoe.