SANTA ANA – Klinedinst shareholder Kevin J. Gramling recently prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in a case involving a woman who claimed she had suffered significant injuries after a trip and fall incident on an entry door floor mat at her local bank branch in Encino, CA.
The plaintiff filed a lawsuit for premises liability, alleging that she tripped on a corner of the floor mat that was allegedly folded over. She alleged that the floor mat was a trip hazard, and that the bank knew it was a trip hazard. According to the lawsuit, she alleged that she had tripped over the mat a few months before and told a bank employee that the mat was a trip hazard. The plaintiff injured her shoulder and claimed over $100,000 in damages due to a surgery and subsequent rehabilitation.
Through witness testimony, Mr. Gramling was able to prove that about one minute before plaintiff fell, the floor mat was not folded over. A bank customer who entered the bank shortly before plaintiff testified that the mat was flat when he entered the bank branch. Mr. Gramling used video surveillance to prove that the floor mat was not folded over within the minute before the plaintiff’s fall. The video also showed that a bank employee had inspected the area where the plaintiff fell approximately five minutes before she fell, and that the floor mat was not folded over. Based upon this uncontroverted evidence, the trial court granted summary judgment.
Klinedinst congratulates Kevin J. Gramling for his successful defense against this claim. To learn more about Mr. Gramling, click here.
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