Defense Verdict for Snow Removal Contractor in Slip & Fall Case

Ice

Attorney Sarah Christie successfully obtained a defense verdict in New London Superior Court on behalf of a snow removal contractor in a 13-day jury trial arising from a slip and fall on snow and ice.

The plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell on ice on a strip of grass that ran between the sidewalk and parking lot in an elderly housing complex and filed an action against the property owner, the property manager and the snow plow contractor. Plaintiff claimed she sustained extensive injuries including fractured right ankle, torn left meniscus requiring surgery and ongoing therapy and injections, numbness to both legs, tingling and loss of bladder control, permanent scarring and disfigurement, emotional distress and ongoing difficulty standing and ambulating as a direct result of her fall. During the course of litigation, the plaintiff filed an Offer of Compromise in the amount of $450,000 to settle her claim.

Attorney Christie argued that plaintiff’s comparative negligence was the proximate cause of her alleged injuries as she elected to walk on the grassy area on the way to her vehicle. Further, Attorney Christie argued that the co-defendant property manager had not requested that the snow removal contractor conduct any snow removal in the subject area. Attorney Christie successfully resisted plaintiff’s efforts to elicit testimony from a purported snow removal expert, as the court agreed that the proffered witness did not have the expertise or experience to qualify as an expert on the topic of snow removal.

After deliberating for six hours over two days, the jury returned with a verdict in favor of the defendant snow removal contractor. The jury further found that the co-defendant property owner and manager were negligent, but their negligence was not the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

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