This BenGlassLaw personal injury client was a woman who had her leg severely fractured when a roll of carpet fell on her while she was shopping in a Winchester, VA carpet store. She had to have two surgeries to repair the leg and it took her many months to recover. This a case of premises liability.
Premises liability refers to a legal concept in personal injury cases where the injury was caused by some type of unsafe or defective condition on someone’s property. Under Virginia law, property owners and occupiers have a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors. If they fail to do so and someone is injured as a result, the owner or occupier can be held legally responsible under premises liability law.
The specifics of premises liability can vary by jurisdiction, but the core idea is that property owners and occupiers must take reasonable steps to ensure their property is safe for those who enter it legally. It is important to speak to an experienced personal injury attorney in Virginia if you are injured in Virginia.
In this case, we contacted the insurance company after our client, a restaurant owner, asked us to represent her and we tried to settle the case without filing a lawsuit.
The case was filed in federal court in the Western District of Virginia.
After taking depositions we filed a Motion for Summary Judgment.
A motion for summary judgment in a civil case under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is a request made to the court by one party to rule in their favor without the need for a trial. This is typically filed after the discovery phase but before trial. The motion asserts that there are no disputed issues of material fact requiring a trial to resolve, and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
The BenGlassLaw team asserted in the motion that there was no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that our client was entitled to judgment based on the undisputed facts.
If the court agrees that there is no genuine dispute over any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, it will grant the motion, thereby resolving part or all of the claims in the case without a trial. If material facts are still at issue, the motion will be denied, and the case will proceed to trial.
After we filed the motion the attorneys for the carpet store agreed with us and stipulated to liability.
The insurance company refused to settle the case and refused to make any offer whatsoever until one month before trial, even though they agreed that they were responsible. Their only offer of $75,000 was refused and the case was tried in Federal Court in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
The jury awarded $390,000. The insurance company did not appeal the verdict.
Brian Glass heads up the personal injury team at BenGlassLaw.