Premises Liability

Abigail defended the landlord/owner of a house rented to an unmarried couple with two children.  During the night, an alleged carbon monoxide leak was detected, and the boyfriend carried all three other residents who were overcome by fumes outside to safety.  The case involved claims for medical bills and breathing injuries.  Expert testimony revealed that a pipe in the furnace failed, unbeknownst to the landlord or the tenants.  The court found no negligence, and granted judgment in favor of Abigail’s client, the defendant landlord of the home.

John Fleming defended the Third-Party Defendant, the owner of a building, arising out of an accident that occurred during the demolition process of the building. A stairwell had been removed, and a police officer fell down the open and unprotected stairwell, while patrolling the building at night. At trial, the jury placed 80% of the liability on the demolition company (defended by a different law firm) and only 20% on the building owner.

John Fleming represented a hospital. This case involved an injured plaintiff, a hospital patient, who fell on an alleged improper rise between two different floor surfaces. Plaintiff claimed there was insufficient marking or warning of the differences in floor levels, causing her fall and fracture injuries. The jury returned a “not guilty” verdict in favor of the hospital.

Abigail Fleming and Tom Norman represented a snow removal business, who provided services for a local business in Bloomington, Illinois. After the completion of snow removal and salt application services by our client, Plaintiff allegedly slipped on ice in the business parking lot of a hair salon. Plaintiff continued to receive her hair treatment services after the fall, but claimed significant shoulder surgeries and other serious injuries resulting from this fall.

After discovery depositions, and on-site inspections, our office drafted a Motion for Summary Judgment on behalf of the snow removal business. Both other parties objected and argued against our client's summary judgment at hearing. The Court agreed with our position and granted summary judgment for the snow removal business.

Abigail Fleming defended a business in a personal injury matter where Plaintiff was walking through the parking lot near the entryway and slipped and fell on the curb. There was no defect on the curb. Plaintiff sustained a significant head injury, as she fell and struck her head on the concrete. Significant medical bills were at issue. Abigail was able to dispose of the case at summary judgment stage, with successful outcome for the Defendant business.

John Fleming defended a building owner in a case where a roofing worker fell through a clear plastic skylight and suffered multiple fracture injuries and incurred in excess of $200,000.00 in medical bills.  The defense argued that the skylight was an obvious condition and the injured plaintiff roofing worker should not have stepped on the skylight.  The jury agreed with Mr. Fleming and found the building owner not guilty of any negligence.

Our office has represented numerous snow plow operators and businesses, in cases where an injured claimant fell on snow or ice in a parking lot. The cases involve both oral agreements and written contracts to provide snow plow services. The key to the defense of these cases is limiting the duty to the actual plowing activity, and establishing testimony that the snow was pushed and piled to a reasonable area away from walkways.

John Fleming tried a case that involved three businessmen in an elevator at a local hospital, who claimed the elevator dropped or fell several floors.  One businessman had a heart attack.  The elevator involved was a hydraulic elevator.  The expert for the defense testified that when a hydraulic elevator breaks or malfunctions, the elevator will fall slowly, due to the fact that the elevator is supported by fluid located in cylinders and lines which diminish slowly during any system failure.  The jury returned with a not guilty verdict in favor of John’s client.

John Fleming defended the landlord in a case where the injured plaintiff claimed a trip and fall on a loose floor tile in the kitchen in the leased premises.  Plaintiff and her husband cleaned the floor several times per week for several years and never observed any loose tiles or any defects.  The landlord had no notice of any loose or dangerous tiles.

During closing argument, Mr. Fleming argued that the injured plaintiff wanted the jury to believe that everyone else was not telling the truth, including her husband, her medical care providers, and the landlord, but that the jury should somehow believe plaintiff’s version of the story.  The jury returned with a verdict in favor of John’s client, the defendant landlord.

John Fleming defended a homeowner in a slip and fall case, where the injured plaintiff walked through water puddles in the laundry room in the basement several times, falling the third time, and experiencing a significant shoulder injury.  Based on the “open and obvious” doctrine of law, the court granted summary judgment in favor of John’s client, the defendant homeowner.