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Premises liability requires that
property owners, the hospitality industry and commercial
enterprises uphold the responsibility to ensuring the
safety of the public. By safely maintaining their property
and posting visible warnings of unsafe conditions, they
avoid a condition of dangerous premises.
Here are three recent cases that underscore
our competence in the area of premises liability injury;
Jones v. Ehretz, Frankel v. Amfac, Inc. and Williams
v. Dinwiddie Coast. Co.
In the first dangerous
premises case, Jones v.
Ehretz, our client, an LAPD
officer was on horseback in pursuit of a suspected drug
dealer. He and his partner entered a private driveway
located between two apartment buildings. The officer's
horse backed up and stepped over a low wall dividing the
properties falling seven feet to the ground below. There
were no warnings posted of this dangerous premises condition.
The officer sustained catastrophic injuries to the left
hand and foot requiring numerous surgeries. The jury awarded
our client $2,000,000 on this premises liability
lawsuit.
In
the second premises liability lawsuit,
Frankel v. Amfac, Inc.,
our client was leaving the swimming pool area at a resort.
He exited a gate in the direction of his room when he
landed three feet below, severely injuring his left
knee... forcing him to walk with a cane for the rest
of his life. The gate was unlocked with a solid panel
preventing visibility to the other side. There were
no warnings. The defense claimed that our client was
liable because he should have looked before he stepped.
The jury returned a verdict awarding Mr. Frankel $1,600,000
for this dangerous premises condition.
The third premises
liability
case, Williams v. Dinwiddie
Construction Co., our client was a security guard
working at the Getty Museum. A new iron gate installed
on the date of the accident did not have any mechanism
to prevent the gate from coming off the rollers. The
1300 lb. gate fell on our client, causing fractures
to his right elbow. He had surgery and returned to work
doing the same job. Because of the accident, he was
unable to pursue his dream of becoming a sheriff's deputy.
The premises
liability
lawsuit went to trial and a jury awarded our client
$1,500,000 in damages.
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