LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – A dark room with no floor might not be an open and obvious hazard, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided.
On Nov. 12, the court overturned the decision of the Marquette Circuit Court in the case of Lee Anne L. Sundberg.
She was looking for a restroom at an office building leased by Oberstar, Inc., and owned by 1900 Industrial Parkway. She asked an Oberstar employee where she could fine one, and that person pointed her toward two doors.
She opened one of them and entered. The room had no floor and was used to access the basement.
She turned the lights on but fell nearly 8 feet to the basement floor and was injured. She alleged premises liability as well as negligence because the employee pointed her toward the room with no floor.
“The drop-off… was completely unknown to plaintiff and ended with a cement floor,” the decision says. “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, reasonable minds could find that the drop-off was unreasonably dangerous.”
The decision overturns summary disposition in favor of the defendants. The trial judge had ruled Sundberg would have seen the crawl space if she had inspected the area before proceeding.
“We pause to note that the trial court here required too much: a hazard is not open and obvious if the danger could be revealed upon casual observation; it is open and obvious if the danger would have been discovered by an average person upon casual inspection,” the appellate decision says.
The case will move forward to determine if the defendants are liable for Sundberg’s injuries.