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ARTICLE ID 167774

$________ Premises liability - Fall down - Plaintiff slips and falls on ice patch in parking lot - Quadriceps rupture and meniscal tear on same leg suffered by plaintiff who weighs in excess of ________ pounds - No income claims.

Somerset County, NJ

The plaintiff, in his mid 40s, contended that as he stepped from his vehicle after parking in the defendant’s parking lot, he slipped and fell on an ice patch. The co-defendant snow removal contractor had plowed the lot the day before and snow and ice had been piled around trees and railroad ties situated several parking spaces away. The plaintiff’s expert engineer would have maintained that because of the combination of a slope traveling downwards from the area in which the snow had been piled and a period of above-freezing temperatures, runoff to the area next to the plaintiff’s car occurred and that the water refroze, causing the hazardous condition. The defendant contended that its maintenance and inspection procedures were reasonable.

The accident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m. The defendant’s property manager indicated that he drove through the lot, inspecting it approximately one hour earlier and that it appeared reasonably clear. The defendant would have argued that the failure to observe this one ice patch did not reflect negligence. The defendant would have also contended that the cause of the accident was the negligent failure of the plaintiff to exit his vehicle with sufficient care.

The plaintiff maintained that he sustained a quadriceps rupture and a tear of the medial meniscus on the same leg. The plaintiff maintained that despite two surgical interventions, he will suffer permanent pain and some difficulties ambulating. The defendant contended that the plaintiff made a good recovery and that any continuing complaints stemmed from his weight of over ________ pounds.

The plaintiff was not working because of unrelated issues, and the plaintiff made no income claims. The medical bills were paid by PIP in this case in which the plaintiff was injured as he was exiting his vehicle.

The case settled prior to trial for $________.

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