In personal injury cases in Florida, the jury has to make a decision as to whether to believe part or all of the account of events presented by the defendant. They must decide whether there are any genuine issues of material fact. However, judges must decide matters of law, and they are required to permit the jury to hear all relevant evidence that is not prohibited by law.
In the case of McNabb v. Taylor Elevator Corp., the district appellate court considered whether an expert witness revealed a genuine issue of material fact in his affidavit, and whether the trial court was in error when it sided with the defendant’s summary judgment, thereby resulting in a dismissal of the case. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit after suffering injuries from slipping on an oil leak close to an elevator on a condominium complex.
Before the accident, an elevator seal broke and leaked into the machine room and hallway where the plaintiff fell. According to testimony given by the elevator service technician, the leak was dripping every two seconds, and the depth of the oil was a quarter-inch. In his lawsuit, plaintiff alleged negligent maintenance of the elevator and the surrounding area. The defendants, who included the condominium association and the elevator servicing company, contended that the testimony of the inspectors proved that there was no valid claim of negligent maintenance because a leak did not exist during the time of the inspection.
The plaintiff then presented testimony of his own expert witness, who was a mechanical engineer. He gave his opinion that the seal had experienced a leak between 4 ½ and 18 days. The expert arrived at his conclusion on the basis of the following factors: the rate of the drip, the depth of the oil and the dimensions of the machine room.
However, the trial court disregarded the affidavit of the plaintiff’s expert witness, and granted defendant’s summary judgment. The court believed that the expert’s reasoning was not based on facts, and that he was not making statements that were consistent with the pleadings. The plaintiff filed an appeal, and contended that his expert established a genuine issue of material fact. The appellate court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and held that the expert’s affidavit created a genuine issue of fact. Thus, there was a reversal of the summary judgment, and the plaintiff could resume his lawsuit.
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident due to the negligence of another individual or entity, call the Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys at Chalik & Chalik Law Offices.
Slips and Falls from Restaurant Hazards When you go to a restaurant to eat, you often don’t think about the dangers that restaurants present. You are often hungry and want to get to your seat as fast as possible, and you may not be looking for dangerous flooring conditions, such as uneven ground, ripped or torn carpet, and spilled liquid. In...
Hidden slip and fall hazards of steps and stairways Slip and fall accidents on stairs can cause serious injuries. Stairways come with inherent dangers that are usually not present on level surfaces. While sometimes the hazards may be obvious, in other cases they may be harder to detect. Property owners can be liable for stair accidents just like slip and falls in other locations....
Scientists to study impact of worn shoes on slip and fall accidents University of Pittsburgh researchers received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to develop techniques for predicting the wear rate of footwear in order to reduce the risk of slip and fall accidents. The study is titled “Impact of Worn Shoes on Slipping.” The university’s Swanson School of Engineering...
Employees Need to Report Work Hazards to Reduce Fall Accidents Workers get injured due to fall accidents every year. Unfortunately, these slip and fall injuries account for economical loss, pain and suffering, and even death in some cases. Because most of these injuries are generally preventable, workers need to learn how to identify trouble areas at the workplace and report any hazards to their employers....
Wet Floor Slip and Falls: What You Need To Know If you were involved in a wet floor slip and fall accident, you should know that: If another party’s negligence caused your accident, you can seek compensation. You should collect any type of evidence possible to strengthen your case. Slip and fall accidents can cause severe injuries, so you should seek medical care right away....
How Can a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Help With My Slip and Fall Case? In slip and fall accident cases, the state of Florida requires claimants to prove that the property owner did not take reasonable precautions to prevent their injury. Because many people do not have a working knowledge of premises liability laws, they elect to work with a personal injury lawyer. Some of the services that these...
How to Sue a Dollar Store for a Slip and Fall If you or a loved one was injured when you fell in a dollar store, you can recover damages for your injuries and related expenses. Recovering those damages means filing an insurance claim. You must prove your fall was caused by negligence and then negotiate a fair settlement with the insurance company. If you cannot...
Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Cases in Florida The statute of limitations for slip and fall accident cases in Florida is set at two years. This means that you generally have two years from the fall or from the date you discovered injuries to file a personal injury lawsuit. There are several legal considerations to weigh when determining if your window to file...