It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this slip and fall case could just as easily occur at any of the supermarkets in the area, such as Safeway, Raley’s, Bel Air, Save Mart, Walmart, or Whole Foods.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury case and its proceedings.)
Because the owner is not the insurer of the visitor’s personal safety, the owner’s actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition is a key to establishing its liability. Moore, supra, 111 Cal.App.4 at 476. In the absence of actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition, the owner is not liable. Ibid. Moreover, where plaintiff relies on the failure to correct a dangerous condition to prove the owner’s negligence, the plaintiff has the burden of proof of showing the owner had notice of the defect in sufficient time to correct it. Ibid.
Plaintiff has not and cannot produce any evidence to establish that Safeway Inc. had actual or constructive notice of the alleged dangerous condition on the floor prior to plaintiff’s fall. Plaintiff concedes that she has no information as to how long the substance had been Memorandum of Points and Authorities In Suort of Defendant Safeway Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment present on the floor prior to her fall or how it came to be on the floor.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
Here, plaintiff cannot meet her burden of proof that the alleged dangerous condition existed for a sufficient time to provide defendant with constructive notice of the dangerous condition. Defendant’s employee Herbert Lee last inspected and swept the area where plaintiff fell just 7to 12 minutes before plaintiff fell. Plaintiff cannot establish that Safeway had actual or constructive notice of anything on the floor prior to plaintiffs fall, or that the substance had been on the floor for a sufficient period of time to provide notice to Safeway. Accordingly, plaintiff cannot establish one or more of the essential elements of her causes of action for negligence or premises liability, and defendant is entitled to summary judgment in its favor and against plaintiffs. (See Part 9 of 9.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.