Posted On: October 23, 2007 by Moseley Collins

Trip-and-Fall Causes Serious Injuries

I read the craziest story in the news today. It is about a personal injury lawsuit in Southern California in which a woman was injured from a trip-and-fall and then assaulted. The woman, Star Harris, states that she was in 7-11 when she fell over some crates that were in her way. Badly injured, Star made her way to the counter to call 911. Star suffered another blow, literally, once she reached the counter. While asking a cashier for a phone to call 911, a man punched Star in the face and knocked her down! Hard to believe that someone would do such a thing to a injured woman. A store security camera depicted this second incident, and after the punch, showed the man paying for a beer and leaving.

It is a crazy world.

Star ended up in the hospital, suffering from three broken ribs, and an injured back and head. In response, Star is suing 7-11 for $1 million. 7-11 has offered Star $15,000.

This is a very interesting and unusual case. However, it does depict a trip-and-fall situation. The facts that need to be discovered are several, including whether someone’s negligence caused the fall and whether the crates were open and obvious. Something is open and obvious if it is apparent upon “causal inspection”, so that a reasonable person if in the same situation, would avoid the potentially dangerous object.

If you have been seriously injured in a trip-and-fall accident because of someone else’s negligence, please call me at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins.

To read the full news article, please click here.