PetSmart Settles Dog Poop Slip and Fall Case
Slip and fall accidents can be terrible ordeals leading to severe injuries.
But slip and fall accidents that are caused by a dog's, uh, accident? Well, those are just embarrassing.
A lawsuit against pet retailer PetSmart was recently settled for just that. And the plaintiff showed no shame.
In 2009, Robert W. Holloway and his daughter were at the local PetSmart when he stepped in a pile of poo. As he began to fall, he grabbed a hold of his daughter and wrenched his back.
And despite the obvious, there is no report of any corresponding offensive smell. Nor any indication of just how he missed a pile of crap in the middle of the floor.
The lawsuit alleged that the poo caused him severe enough injuries that he required back surgery, reports The Virginian-Pilot.
In his lawsuit, Holloway claimed that PetSmart was negligent in that it failed to protect him from an unobvious hazardous condition on the premises.
Businesses, especially those like grocery stores and PetSmart, have a legal duty to protect their patrons from hidden dangerous conditions on their property. To fulfill this duty, they must conduct periodic sweeps of the property and either fix dangerous conditions or put up warnings, such as the ubiquitous "Wet Floor" sign.
PetSmart claims that an employee was on her way to clean up the mess, reports the paper, but chances are that the company settled because they did not have concrete enough evidence to prove this.
Robert W. Holloway requested $1 million, but both he and PetSmart have yet to disclose the settlement sum.
Related Resources:
- Virginia Man Sues After Slipping in Dog Poop (NBC)
- Slip and Fall: FAQ (FindLaw)
- Premises Liability FAQ (FindLaw)
- Hunter Sues Travel Agency Over Lack of Elephants to Shoot (FindLaw's Legally Weird)