Slip And Fall Lawsuit Alleges Plaintiff Tripped Over “Wet Floor” Sign

Generally speaking, “wet floor” signs absolve proprietors of liability after mopping up a slip hazard. It shows that they have remedied the dangerous condition and placed customers on warning that the floor might still be wet. Rarely, do “wet floor” signs shine as the centerpiece of a trip and fall lawsuit. But there you have it, a plaintiff is suing because they tripped and fell over a “wet floor” sign.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff and his wife booked an extended stay at the defendant’s hotel in Virginia Beach due to significant repairs on their home from a water leak. During their three-month stay, the plaintiff established a daily routine where he would get tea from the breakfast area for his wife between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. After bringing the tea upstairs, he would return to the breakfast area to make himself coffee before going to work. On days when hot water was not available, the plaintiff would walk to the kitchen window and ask the cook.

The hotel’s schedule was to mop the breakfast area’s floor at night before propping up the wet floor sign. Before the start of breakfast service at 6 a.m., the sign was removed and the lights were turned on.

Instead of the conventional yellow color, the wet floor sign had a brown frame with a metallic surface. The sign was specifically chosen “for its aesthetic appeal” and had been used for approximately 5 years on the hotel property. No patrons had ever tripped over the sign prior to the plaintiff.

Two months into their stay, the plaintiff went to the breakfast area as usual to get his wife tea. There was no hot water out that day, so he took his usual path to the kitchen window to ask the cook for hot water, which he got. On his way back to his room, the plaintiff tripped over the wet floor sign and fell. Initially, he declined medical intervention but was later taken to the hospital by his wife.

The plaintiff alleges that the hotel breached its duty of care to the plaintiff by selecting a wet floor sign that “blended in with the surrounding decor” and placing it in such a manner that it fell over, causing a tripping hazard, and failing to remove it once the floor was dry.

The defendants moved for summary judgment contending that the sign was “open and obvious” and that the plaintiff was contributorily negligent when he tripped over it. They also argued that the plaintiff could not establish there was a breach of the duty of care or that the defendants were on notice that there was some form of hazard. However, a judge denied the hotel’s motion for summary judgment and placed the matter before a jury who will decide whether or not to compensate the plaintiff for tripping over the wet floor sign.

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Source:

valawyersweekly.com/2024/05/13/heightened-duty-of-care-hotel-guests-slip-and-fall-case-heads-to-jury-trial/