Despite a high-resolution surveillance video depicting the Plaintiff slipping and falling violently on the entrance ramp to Defendant’s store, Eamon Merrigan successfully obtained a defense verdict in favor of his client. Plaintiff argued that Defendant’s ramp became dangerously slippery after having been rained on within the hour before her fall. Plaintiff further argued that Defendant must have known of the potential danger from prior rainy days, and that Defendant was negligent in not taking any action to protect against the danger.
Defendant testified that he personally painted the ramp with slip-resistant paint less three years prior to Plaintiff’s fall, and that he was not aware of the ramp ever becoming slick, even when wet. Mr. Merrigan presented further evidence indicating that hundreds of thousands of people traversed that ramp in the three years prior to Plaintiff’s fall, and that no one ever slipped or reported the ramp to be slick, even on rainy days. The jury agreed with Mr. Merrigan’s argument that Defendant had no notice of the alleged defect and that Plaintiff’s fall was merely an isolated incident. After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury returned with a finding of no negligence.
