Despite the workers comp insurance company’s delay, Doug Landau was able to successfully settle a Radford area client’s slip and fall case for $117,300 after filing suit in the Loudoun County Circuit Court.

FACTS: The Plaintiff had finished his morning’s work. He headed to the men’s bathroom before going on to lunch. He had no warning that the floor was wet, and, as he stepped into the bathroom he slipped and crashed down onto the wet floor, twisting his right knee and causing a contusion to his right shoulder.

There was a cautionary “Wet Floor“ sign neatly folded and placed behind a trash can inside the bathroom, where nobody could see it. Witnesses will confirm that the water on this bathroom floor was an injury to a person waiting to happen The bathroom had a leaky roof and holes in the drywall.

Clearly, the lack of maintenance in not repairing the leak in the roof; relying on buckets to catch rain water; and, failing to warn of this latent defect, are all evidence of the negligence in this case. The Defendant premises owner breached its duty to Doug Landau’s client to use care to have its premises in a safe condition and to warn him of unsafe conditions. While liability is almost always hotly contested in Virginia premises liability cases, because of thee defenses of “Contributory Negligence” and “Assumption of the Risk,” the trial team at Abrams Landau, Ltd. was able to assemble strong evidence of the Defendant’s fault by utilizing: witness interviews, photographs and diagrams.