Personal Injury - Premise Liability

A realtor was showing a vacation home that had been foreclosed by a bank at Mt. Hood, when she allegedly fell through a rotten step causing her to tear her left ACL and injure her right meniscus.  The realtor sued the bank for premise liability claiming approximately $350,000 in damages — including $95,000 in past and future medical expenses.

Plaintiff rejected the bank’s $50,000 offer to settle the claim.  During the five-day trial, attorney Rob May argued it was more likely that Plaintiff had slipped and broke the step when she fell, which caused her injuries. Rob brought in a structural engineer who testified that had the step been rotten enough to break, the rot would have been visible to the home inspector or half-dozen other individuals who had been to the property.  Even a step in good condition, however, could easily have broken by Plaintiff falling onto it. This testimony tied in with the medical expert, who was of the opinion that Plaintiff previously tore her ACL in 2000, and the torn ACL made her knee unstable and more susceptible to falling on a slippery surface.  After deliberating for only 2 hours, the jury returned a defense verdict.