Appellate Court Rules on Negligent Mode of Operation

By jmaroney on December 29, 2008

In another case, Etheridge v. Walt Disney World, the Court held that it was improper for the judge to grant a directed verdict, preventing the plaintiff from bringing his case to a jury. In this case, the plaintiff was injured at Walt Disney World when she was crossing the street from a parking lot, stepped off a curb and her ankle was caught in a storm drain. The appellate court here in Florida ruled that even though there may not have been a defect in the design, construction or maintenance of the storm drain, the court should have allowed the plaintiff to present evidence to a jury of a pattern and practice of encouraging guests to cross the street over the storm drain. Negligent mode of operation may be a basis for liability against a premises owner in a case where someone falls and suffers serious injury.

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