Variances ini Walkways

Slip/trip and fall cases are often very fact sensitive.  The :Mississippi Court of Appeals dealt with the grant of summary judgment on one of these cases on Tuesday in Trull v. Riverboat Casino located here. The issue in the case was whether a variance in the height of the sidewalk could constitute a dangerous condition.  The Plaintiff had fell when the variance in the sidewalk caused her to trip.  The Court of Appeals said no.  Unfortunately, Mississippi caselaw has consistently held that the existence of slight variations in walkways or thresholds does not constitute a dangerous condition. See, e.g., McGovern, 566 So. 2d at 1226; Rowe, 248 Miss. at 415, 159 So. 2d at 283; Bond, 908 So. 2d at 88-82 (¶¶7-9).   There are a lot of facts that are not brought out in the opinions which can be found in the briefs at the Supreme Court website.  I have also heard that the injuries incurred in the case have resulted in multiple surgeries for the Plaintiff.  After reading the briefs, I hope the case goes up for the Mississippi Supreme Court to review.  There appears to be enough front the briefs to get around the cases cited above to make it a factual issue for a jury.