{"id":1356,"date":"2019-10-31T14:02:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T14:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=1356"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:53","slug":"was-there-negligence-when-durham-man-slipped-at-pizza-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2019\/10\/31\/was-there-negligence-when-durham-man-slipped-at-pizza-restaurant\/","title":{"rendered":"Was there negligence when Durham man slipped at pizza restaurant?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holding two salads, James Walker headed toward the exit of Pizza Inn on April 2, 2018. He didn\u2019t make it. He slipped on a clear substance and fell onto the floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw stars, had a metallic taste in my mouth and sat for a few minutes before getting up,\u201d Walker, 59, of Durham, wrote in an affidavit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His fall led to lower back inflammation and a bulging disc, Walker wrote. It eventually aggravated his pre-existing hip condition enough to require right hip replacement, he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker, general manager of Elite Flooring, sued the Pizza Inn on North Duke Street for negligence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At a hearing before Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson this month, Pizza Inn\u2019s attorney Stephanie Anderson said it would be impossible for Walker to prove the restaurant was negligent. For him to win the case, he\u2019d have to prove that the restaurant was responsible for the liquid spill, that employees knew about it, or, at least, that they should\u2019ve known.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNobody knew how long the water had been there, no one knew where it came from. Someone could have spilled water on the floor two seconds before he fell,\u201d Anderson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Walker\u2019s attorney Lauri Klein argued that even if Pizza Inn had no knowledge of the spill, the restaurant\u2019s cleaning protocols were shoddy enough to suggest negligence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t train people to look for spills. There is nothing about inspection. Hourly, two-hourly: They don\u2019t have a policy for that,\u201d Klein said. \u201cThey\u2019re passing the buck off to the plaintiff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She took out a photo of the restaurant and pointed to a hand sanitizer dispenser near the salad bar and hot bar. Klein said it was probable hand sanitizer or food would fall on the floor throughout the day and suggested that Pizza Inn should inspect the floor more frequently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Klein wanted a jury to hear the case. She thought it could help decide some material facts the parties hadn\u2019t yet agreed on: Was the floor actually wet? Did the restaurant cause the spill? Did it know the floor was wet? Was Walker injured?<\/span><\/p>\n

But after listening to the attorneys, Hudson determined that Walker had no case against the restaurant. The case is now closed and won\u2019t go to a jury.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holding two salads, James Walker headed toward the exit of Pizza Inn on April 2, 2018. He didn\u2019t make it. 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