Abuershaid v. Fitness International, LLC

Alice Chen Smith and Kimberly Byrge obtained a unanimous defense verdict in Abuershaid v. Fitness International, LLC. In this slip and fall case in which Plaintiff claimed a rotator cuff tear after slipping on water droplets in the front lobby of Defendant’s facility, Plaintiff claimed that Fitness had actual knowledge of the dangerous condition for 20-30 minutes prior to the incident.

Fitness established that its manager had inspected the area within ten minutes of the incident and no such condition was identified.  Fitness’ expert testified that Plaintiff’s rotator cuff tear was the result of a long-standing degenerative condition that pre-dated the incident by, at minimum, 1 ½ years, so that even if the accident had not happened, Plaintiff would have required the same rotator cuff surgery with the same results.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict in less than 30 minutes, finding that Fitness was not negligent.