BLOG

Just recently, a woman who was accidentally injured by a fallen tree right where she lived in an apartment complex presented a premises liability lawsuit that was consequentially upheld by an appellate court in Florida. Ultimately, the court issued a written opinion for the case which granted it the opportunity to determine the sufficiency of the case presented by the plaintiff thereby surviving the defendants’ summary judgment challenge. Most premises liability plaintiffs working with a personal injury attorney to present a premises liability lawsuit will definitely find this case to be very helpful.

How it all began

While living as a tenant in an apartment complex owned by the defendants, the plaintiff recalled how a tree situated near the proper was knocked over by a heavy storm. On that particular day when the tree fell, no accident was reckoned as it only affected the gutter of the apartment building in which the plaintiff resided.

For some days, no one made any attempt to bring down the tree which remained suspended from the building. As a matter of urgency, the plaintiff contacted the defendants to draw their attention to the looming disaster, but they made no attempt to remove the tree. In her quest for a proactive solution, the plaintiff reached out to a co-tenant who also served as the defendants’ maintenance worker.

After arriving at the site of the fallen tree, the plaintiff and her fellow resident tried to get the tree down themselves. Unfortunately, it didn’t go down well with the plaintiff as the tree struck and injured her seriously when it fell. To this end, the plaintiff sued the defendants for negligence in maintaining the property when she filed a personal injury case against them.

But the defendants, on their own part, didn’t relent to make their own arguments known by filing a motion for summary judgment. They claimed they could not be held legally responsible for the injuries suffered by the plaintiff. According to them, the plaintiff was more aware of the hazard the tree posed than they do but failed to prevent it.

However, the court found these arguments to be baseless and thus disagreed. According to the court, the plaintiff sustained injuries as a result of the maintenance worker’s effort to remove the tree and not the suspended stem. Though the plaintiff reached out to the maintenance worker for help, the court held that she was unaware of his plans. As a result, the court declared the summary judgment presented by the defendants to be inappropriate to the extent that the maintenance worker may have been working for the defendants.

Don’t hesitate to contact the services of a skilled personal injury attorney if you or a loved one has been recently injured in a slip-and-fall injury in Florida.