Our Practice - Premises Liability

Premises Liability

A premises liability accident occurs any time someone is injured on the property of another. The property may be used for commercial, residential or industrial purposes. An action may arise from a construction failure or simply a failure to maintain property. Dangerous conditions of property may result in death, injury or property damage.

In Rice, Duffy + Partners obtained a $14,000,000 verdict/settlement for a forklift operator who was crushed by pallets of frozen food when the warehouse racking he was working near collapsed upon him, resulting in partial paralysis. $3,400,000 of the result was by way of pre-trial settlement with some of the defendants. The remaining $10,600,000 in recovery was as a result of a jury verdict against the racking manufacturer following a 5 day trial. The verdict was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the State that year.

In Gymnastics Plus, Duffy + Partners obtained a $3,000,000 verdict for a New Jersey gymnastics facility which burned down due to the failure of the local utility, GPU, to maintain adequate surge protection at its transformers. GPU, on appeal, contended that such a verdict was the first of its kind and would set a new standard of safety for the utility. GPU fought the case, unsuccessfully, through the Appellate Division and Supreme Courts of New Jersey.

In Cole, a truck driver, Mike Cole, suffered a wrist injury when a steel roll-away door, fell from its track, landing on Mr. Cole’s wrist, causing it to fracture in multiple places. Mr. Cole, a truck driver, was unable to continue driving trucks. A New Castle County, Delaware jury returned a $1,600,000 verdict for Mr. Cole against the Port of Wilmington.

In Eshleman v. PECO, Duffy + Partners obtained a $1,000,000 settlement for a security office who suffered an electrical shock, resulting in RSD, while performing her patrol at a nuclear power plant. The RSD condition affected Ms. Eshleman’s right arm, preventing her from handling fire-arms, a necessary part of her job.

In S.L. Danielle, Duffy + Partners obtained a $1,300,000 verdict against a commercial building owner and tenant for significant water damage to an apparel company’s bailed goods due to the activation of an excessive number of sprinkler heads during a small fire. It was established that the fire was caused by the negligence of the tenant, and the building owner had disregarded recommendations to install a needed jockey pump for the sprinkler system before the fire.

In another case, Duffy + Partners obtained a $1,500,000 settlement from a water reservoir owner based on the claim that its negligent operation of the reservoir during a Tropic Storm caused flood damage to a downstream property owner. The identity of the parties remains confidential.