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Slips, Trips & Falls

12/31/2008
Emily Mapp Brannon
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Slip, Trip and Fall cases: When Is A Hole Or a Condition Which Causes Personal Injury Open and Obvious?

My colleague, Rick Shapiro wrote an article about a recent federal court decision out of Richmond, Virginia (within the Federal court circuit over West Virginia (WV), Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) and South Carolina (SC)) the federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a delivery driver's personal injury lawsuit against a Firestone Tire store, resulting from his injury when he tripped in a parking lot pothole.

In a case called Cring v. BFS Retail and Commercial Operations LLC, the opinion by Judge Payne outlined the fact that under Virginia law courts are permitted to find contributory negligence on behalf of the injured victim when the hazard or condition was open and obvious, and with ordinary care, the condition/hole could have or should have been avoided by the injured person. However, this particular decision noted that the Supreme Court of Virginia has specifically not decided, as a matter of law, that a pedestrian's failure to look down while stepping forward must always constitute contributory negligence on behalf of the injured person.

The Virginia high court stated that a jury must examine the size, location and visibility of defects or conditions to determine whether they are truly open and obvious to a personal injury victim. The court in Cring would not dismiss the suit and for a full article discussing the decision click here.

Labels: accident carolina injury attorney contributory negligence fall injury fell in pothole and injured injury attorneys North Carolina personal injury personal injury attorney personal injury lawyer slip injury trip injury tripped in hole injury

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and. Check out our slip, trip, and fall case results. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia if you've been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness. While not every injury case meets our criteria, we off a free, initial confidential injury case consultation, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail and we will return your call promptly.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included among the "Best Lawyers in America" 2010 Edition, and along with attorney John Cooper, were named Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law (2010 Ed., less than 5% of lawyers are chosen), and selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (2009). In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical, respected law firms. Our firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.

Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a public information service.

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Main VA Office
1294 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Phone: (757)-460-7776
Fax: (757)-460-3428
Toll Free: 1-800-752-0042

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Phone: (757)-788-8162

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