Lopez v. Safeway Inc.

On April 25, 2003, upon entering a Safeway grocery store, Plaintiff, age 82, slipped and fell on a water spill created by a store employee. The fall occurred while the employee had gone to the back of the store to retrieve a mop to clean up the spill. The employee claimed to have placed three warning cones in the area prior to leaving it. Plaintiff first indicated that she saw no warning cones, then later stated there were cones but they were not properly placed to barricade customers from walking into the area of the spill. The fall caused Plaintiff to undergo a total knee replacement, with $60,000 in medical expenses incurred.

Petersen v. Petersen

While visiting Defendant’s home on Christmas Day, Plaintiff exited the residence through the kitchen door and tripped and fell over a white PVC pipe which Defendant had set across the concrete sidewalk to drain water from his washing machine. Plaintiff sustained a radial head fracture of the left elbow, a sprained left wrist, a bruised right knee, a hip injury, and exacerbation of a preexisting back injury.

Metzler v. BCI Coca Cola

Plaintiff, a 26-year-old kindergarten teacher, stopped at a local grocery store. While walking through a cashier lane, she slipped and fell on water which had leaked from one of Coca Cola’s soft drink display refrigerators. Coca Cola’s service records for the refrigerator in question revealed it had a history of leaking for the prior two years, but it was never replaced. Plaintiff sustained a herniated lumbo-sacral disk at L-5, S-1, which required both surgery and chiropractic treatment. Plaintiff developed chronic pain, which affected her family, employment, marriage, and quality of life. Testimony from medical provider indicated Plaintiff will suffer continuing pain for life.