Slick Restaurant Floor Causes Elderly Woman to Fall

After attending church services one Sunday, an 83-year-old woman and her family went to dinner at a local restaurant. A slick restaurant floor caused her to fall. Upon arrival at the restaurant, the family checked in at the hostess stand. The hostess then asked them to follow her to their table. With her first step, the woman (plaintiff) slipped and fell to

 

the floor. The fall caused 3 fractures to her right shoulder and a break of her right hip.

Representatives of the restaurant vociferously denied liability for the woman’s fall. They insisted they had no actual or constructive notice. Restaurant management claimed that there were no spills or other materials on the floor that could have contributed to the incident.

Investigation revealed conflicting information:

1. The restaurant was aware that the dining room floor was slippery before the plaintiff’s fall.
2. The restaurant had replaced the floor approximately 12 months prior to the plaintiff’s fall.
3. The restaurant had been having trouble with the floor being slippery for months prior to the plaintiff’s fall.
4. Records indicated that the flooring company had communicated to the restaurant that it was not properly cleaning the floors, which transferred grease from the kitchen to other parts of the restaurant floor when their staff cleaned the floor.
5. Two eyewitnesses were identified, who had entered the restaurant about 15 minutes before the woman and her family.
6. The witnesses said they complained to the hostess about the slipperiness of the floors.
7. There was no effort to clean the floor.
8. No warning signs were posted to warn customers that the floor was slippery.

Treatment of the plaintiff’s injuries required hip replacement surgery and shoulder replacement surgery. After an extended stay in the hospital, the plaintiff spent more than two months as an in-patient at nursing home and rehabilitation facilities. The total time she spent in the hospital, the nursing home and a rehabilitation facility was 74 days.

The medical treatment the plaintiff received was essentially successful. However, she was no longer able to walk unassisted (as she had been prior to the fall), and she required a cane to assist her in walking. This limited her daily activity. She also suffered intermittent periods of motion sickness, which required anti-nausea medication.

The case was settled in mediation after depositions for $750,000 to the plaintiff.

Business owners and managers have a responsibility to maintain all types of business premises in a condition that is safe for all of their patrons. When they fail to do so, particularly when there is clearly documented history of knowledge of a problem, they will be held liable for falls and other accidents that result.

If you or a loved one is injured while on the premises of any business, you may be entitled to recover financial compensation for your hurts and harms. Bettina Altizer and her team have been representing clients with premises liability claims for more than 30 years. We encourage you to make an appointment and come in to talk with us. At Altizer Law P.C., we represent our clients very aggressively because it is about the money.