Premises Liability

October 26, 2021

Michigan Industrial Workplace Accident Liability

shutterstock_1967134333-300x199 The construction industry is an integral part of commerce and the growth of Michigan’s economy. Many construction companies are working in overdrive to make up for the slowdown in projects during the height of the pandemic. While these valiant efforts might be necessary, they also increase the risk of workplace injuries in Michigan. Although state and federal laws impose safety standards on worksites and construction companies, accidents and injuries continue to occur.

These cases are challenging as they often involve multiple parties and a chain reaction of events. Every stage of a claim has its burdens, and an attorney can work with an accident victim and their family to make sure that the court hears the most compelling and legally sound case.

The first stage is one of the most time-sensitive parts of a claim involving the accident investigation. An experienced attorney can review whether the construction site or workplace followed the standards set forth by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA) and Michigan’s state plan. These agencies govern safety issues surrounding dangerous items and workplace conditions and emergency protocols. For instance, they issue rules regarding boilers, contaminants, personal protective equipment, electrical hazards, cranes, scaffolds, elevators, and hoists. Any deviance from the safety standards can have severe and potentially life-threatening consequences.

August 31, 2021

Amusement Park Accident Causes Serious Injuries to Michigan Woman

by Neumann Law Group

shutterstock_115285153-300x168 The thrills and dangers of Michigan’s amusement parks are two sides of the same coin. While these places are popular and fun attractions for residents and tourists, they pose many dangers to visitors. While the risk of dying on a roller coaster is relatively rare, there are nearly 30,000 amusement park-related accidents and injuries every year. Michigan amusement park accident lawsuits are challenging because of the various statutes and immunity that these parks purport as defenses to their negligence. Those who have suffered injuries or lost a loved one because of a theme or amusement park injury should contact an attorney to discuss their rights and remedies.

The leading causes of Michigan amusement park injuries involve insufficient warnings, improper signs, failure to enforce safety standards, defective rides, and ineffective supervision. These forms of negligence can result in serious physical injuries, psychological damage, and death. For example, national news reports have described a harrowing accident involving a Michigan woman who suffered injuries at Cedar Point amusement park. According to reports, the woman was standing in line waiting for a ride when a piece of a ride struck her in the head. An investigation revealed that the L-shaped metal object was approximately the size of an adult man’s hand. The object, a “flat plate,” became dislodged when its securing bolts loosened and fell off.

Safety officials stated that the bracket should hover over the track, and sensors track its movements. However, during the ride’s descent, the bracket ripped off, causing it to fly off of the ride. It appears that the brackets exhibited signs of deformation and damage, which may have contributed to the incident. The woman continues to fight for her life as she receives treatment for her head injuries.

April 26, 2019

Michigan Court Hears Residential Slip-and-Fall Case Involving Uneven Flooring

by Neumann Law Group

Photo credit: Arcady / Shutterstock.com

In a recent Michigan premises liability opinion, the appellate court allowed the plaintiff’s case to proceed to trial based on the property owner’s failure to warn the plaintiff of a dangerous condition in their home. The plaintiff alleged that she fell when entering a mudroom in the defendant’s home where she was a guest. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that her injuries were caused by an eight-inch drop-off between the hallway and the mudroom, which was not visible to the plaintiff.

In Michigan premises liability cases, there are varying degrees of care owed to the plaintiff, depending on the relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff. A plaintiff can generally be categorized as an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. An invitee is someone who is invited to enter or remain on the premises for a commercial benefit to the premises owner. A licensee is someone who is invited to enter or remain on the premises for any reason other than a business or commercial one. Finally, a trespasser is someone who enters the premises without an express or implied invitation.

October 5, 2018

Appeals Court Upholds Premises Liability Verdict in Michigan

by Neumann Law Group

Photo Credit: Robert Heber / Shutterstock.com

Owners of property have a duty of reasonable care to keep visitors safe. It doesn’t matter whether the property is owned by a friend, business, or the government. While nothing can ever be 100% safe, the definition of what a “reasonable” amount of safety entails will depend on the circumstances. For example, a grocery store will be held to a different standard than a construction site. This principle is called premises liability. If you have been injured on the property of another you need to contact a knowledgeable Michigan premises liability attorney to help you decide if the property owner should be held accountable.

Premises Liability

September 12, 2018

Michigan Court Hears Slip and Fall Case

by Neumann Law Group

Photo Credit: Georgii Shipin / Shutterstock.com

If you are injured on someone else’s property, including businesses and government property, you may want to hold the property owner responsible for the damages incurred due to your injuries. However, in order to recover you will need to prove certain specific things, discussed in more detail below. While cases like the one described here can illustrate some of the important points of Michigan personal injury law, only a knowledgeable Western Michigan personal injury attorney can tell you how your case is likely to play out in court.

Michigan Premises Liability

June 12, 2018

Michigan Court Finds No Negligence When Hazard is “Open and Obvious”

by Neumann Law Group

The Michigan Court of Appeals issued an opinion earlier this year applying the “open and obvious doctrine” to resolve a lawsuit brought by an injured employee. Contractors were working on installing a fire protection system in an Ann Arbor building and had left some of the cables on the floor during the installation process. A security guard was patrolling the area and slipped and fell on the cables. He was injured and brought suit, alleging negligence and premises liability. The lower court did not allow the claim to go forward by granting the summary judgment motion of the defendants. The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court and affirmed the summary judgment ruling for the defendant. If you are injured on someone else’s property, whether at work or not, you should contact an experienced Michigan premises liability attorney.

Standards of Proof

This case comes from a motion for summary judgment. This is a motion that a party can make at the beginning of a case. In order to win a motion for summary judgment, one party needs to prove to the judge that both sides agree on the general facts. Furthermore, they need to prove that the party who moved for summary judgment deserves to win as a matter of law.

June 5, 2018

Michigan Court of Appeals Allows Trip and Fall Case Against State to Go Forward

by Neumann Law Group

If you are injured on public property due to government negligence, you will probably want to hold the government accountable for your injuries. In a case that recently came down from the Michigan Court of Appeals, the justices clarified the requirements to bring suit for injuries on government property. Since the government can sometimes claim immunity, unlike with individuals or businesses, there are additional hoops to jump through for those seeking damages. One of these differences is that you have less time to start the process to file your claim, so it is even more crucial that you contact a skilled Michigan premises liability attorney as soon as possible after an accident. The law gets complicated in this area, and if you don’t give notice to the proper entities in the proper way, the court may throw out your lawsuit, permanently barring you from bringing your case forward.

Government Responsibility

In 2015, a woman was at the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing when she tripped on uneven bricks on the front porch of the building. She ended up falling and suffering injuries. The law requires that the government maintain and repair public buildings that are open for use by the public. If the government knows about a dangerous condition and does not fix it in a reasonable time, it could be held liable for injuries sustained due to the defect. Potential plaintiffs have 120 days to give notice to the government of the injuries and their intent to sue.

December 17, 2017

Michigan Appeals Court Upholds Ruling for Defendants in Dog Attack Case

by Neumann Law Group

Plaintiffs appealed an order granting summary disposition in favor of the defendant in a Michigan premises liability action involving an attack on the plaintiffs’ dog, Axle. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed.On May 13, 2015, the plaintiff brought Axle with her out into her backyard to do some gardening. Soon afterward, she left Axle out and went inside to retrieve some gloves. During her brief absence, the plaintiff heard barking at the back fence of her yard. She ran outside and saw Axle on the opposite side of her fence and two pit bulls “on top of him.” The plaintiff observed three or four men in the other yard, one of whom had a shovel and was attempting to beat the pit bulls off of Axle. The plaintiff also grabbed a shovel and cut her hand on the fence as she reached over to help. Eventually, they succeeded in stopping the attack. The plaintiff called Axle’s co-owner, and the two took Axle to a veterinary clinic for emergency care. Axle required specialty care about a week after the incident. Combined, the veterinary bills amounted to around $8,000.

Later, it was discovered that the two dogs belonged to one of several tenants living in the house behind the plaintiff’s backyard. The house where the tenant, his dogs, and his co-tenants resided was owned by their landlord, the defendant.

No one claims to have seen Axle enter the yard containing the pit bulls. The plaintiffs (Axle’s co-owners) suggested that the kinds of injuries Axle sustained to his neck and head on one side, and the markings on that same side, indicate that Axle was grabbed by the pit bulls and pulled over the fence before he was mauled. Although the landlord’s property was bounded by a four-foot-tall cyclone fence, the plaintiffs claimed that a two-foot-tall pile of leaves had collected in the corner of the yard, giving the other dogs a boost to the top.

December 12, 2017

Michigan Appeals Court Allows Slip and Fall Case to Move Forward

by Neumann Law Group

A defendant appealed an order denying his motion for summary disposition in a Michigan slip and fall case. The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for the entry of an order granting the defendant’s motion for summary disposition.On September 14, 2012, the plaintiff was in the defendant’s backyard, sitting by a fire that had been made in the defendant’s fire pit. The fire pit had been constructed that day and consisted of a corrugated metal fire ring set in a hole surrounded by a circular wall of landscaping blocks that was about nine inches tall. The area around the fire pit was covered with pea gravel. The plaintiff had helped spread and pat down that gravel the previous day. The plaintiff had been dating the defendant off and on since about 2004, and she had been to the defendant’s home hundreds of times.

On the night she fell, the plaintiff and the defendant were sitting in chairs by the fire pit drinking wine. The plaintiff was wearing rubber flip flop sandals and had her feet resting on top of the block wall surrounding the fire ring. At some point, the plaintiff felt too hot and decided to move her chair further away from the fire as the defendant was walking toward his house to get something. The plaintiff stood up and then turned around to grab the arms of the chair to move it, with her feet between the chair and the fire pit. As she leaned over to take hold of the chair, her feet started sliding backwards on the gravel, down a slight slope, until she lost her balance and fell backwards into the fire pit, causing her to sustain significant burns.

Subsequently, the plaintiff sued the defendant, alleging theories of negligence and premises liability. In particular, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant knew or should have known that the pea gravel immediately adjacent to the fire pit was unstable but failed to warn or protect her from the dangerous condition. Furthermore, the defendant’s conduct in lighting a fire in an unsafe fire pit was negligent.

November 15, 2017

Michigan Appeals Court Overturns Future Medical Expenses Damages in Personal Injury Case

by Neumann Law Group

The defendant appealed from a judgment entered after a jury verdict in a Michigan premises liability action. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the trial judge’s denial of the defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The appeals court also affirmed the trial judge’s denial of the defendant’s motion for a new trial as to damages with the exception of those based upon past and future medical expenses.While shopping at the defendant’s store, the plaintiff asked for assistance with some folding metal chairs that were located on a top shelf. An employee attempted to manipulate that stack of chairs, and they fell from the top shelf onto the plaintiff’s head. The plaintiff sued the defendant’s corporation, which, though it contested fault, did not contest that if the jury found its employee at fault, it would be liable under respondeat superior.

On appeal, the defendant first contended that the trial court erred by denying its motion for a directed verdict, in which it claimed that it had no duty to the plaintiff, based on the open and obvious danger doctrine. The appeals court agreed with the trial court that this motion was properly denied on both procedural and substantive grounds.

The appeals court concluded that the defendant waived any claim that the action did not sound in negligence. Early in the case, the trial court issued an order providing that once a formal Joint Final Pretrial Order (JFPO) is filed, it supersedes previous pleadings and orders and controls the trial proceedings. It further provided that the JFPO shall contain a concise statement of a defendant’s defenses and cross-claims, including legal theories. A JFPO was presented to the court by the parties and entered as an order. Under the heading “Defendant’s Claims,” the defendant listed multiple defenses but included no reference to premises liability or a defense that the plaintiff’s injury was caused by an open and obvious condition. Given the court’s pre-trial orders and the JFPO to which defense counsel stipulated, the defendant waived this argument.