Premises Liability

Published on: September 16, 2014

Texas Ranch Operator Liability for Trespassers’ Fatal Truck Crash

A family from Mexico — a mother, father, and child — hired a “coyote” to transport them into the United States, to either New Orleans or Houston.

He picked them up in a truck at a safe house in Texas, along with another passenger. They drove to the private Jones Ranch, arriving before dawn. The coyote ordered his passengers to move from the back seat to the floor of the truck. Somehow he had keys to the locked gate of the ranch and drove onto the property.

A ranch employee spotted and stopped the strange truck, even in the early morning darkness, and asked the driver what he was doing on the ranch. The employee observed only the driver and a front seat passenger and also wrote down the license plate number of the truck.

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Published on: August 25, 2014

Worker Injured on Former’s Employer’s Premises

By Carabin Shaw

A recent appellate case arose when a plaintiff was seriously burned after falling into a pool of hot water at the defendant’s chemical plant. The plant had multiple manufacturing units, but the facility was owned by DuPont. The unit where the plaintiff was injured was a formaldehyde production unit. Steam was a key part of the chemical production, and both steam and formaldehyde were supplied by D.B. Western, Inc., which built a formaldehyde manufacturing plant on land adjacent to the chemical plant. Steam pipes ran through the DuPont plant, and through them ran formaldehyde and steam from the adjacent plant.

There were steam traps designed by D.B. Western that DuPont and its outside company Spirex Sarco were responsible for maintaining. In 2004, DuPont sold the formaldehyde unit to Invista, and the employees of DuPont working there, including the plaintiff, became Invista employees. Invista had a contract with the same contracting company to purchase the steam and inspect the pipeline system. The plaintiff was burned by hot condensate that was in a pool under a pipeline.

The plaintiff sued DuPont, the owner of the plant, alleging negligence in the design, construction, and maintenance of the pipeline and steam traps, as well as premises liability. With regard to premises liability, the plaintiff claimed he was an invitee of DuPont. The plaintiff’s wife alleged loss of consortium.

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Published on: July 18, 2014

One Year After Loved One is Killed at Six Flags, a Dallas Family Wants Answers

By Carabin Shaw

One year after a Dallas woman tragically fell to her death at a Six Flags amusement park in Arlington, the legal issues are far from over.

The accident occurred on the evening of July 19, 2013, when 52-year old Rosa Esparza fell 75 feet from where she had been sitting, behind her daughter and son-in-law, on one of the thrill rides. Prior to this, Esparza was allegedly upside down in her seat and holding on for “dear life” before plunging to her death from the Texas Giant ride. This was Esparza’s first visit to the Six Flags theme park.

Following the tragedy, the Arlington Police Department and Six Flags conducted an investigation into what went wrong. The ride shut down for the rest of July and August, before reopening in September after the investigation found no evidence of mechanical failure. Added to the ride were restraining bar pads that had been redesigned, seat belts, and a coaster seat at the entrance so potential riders could determine whether they would fit into the cars securely. Esparza’s family learned that the coaster seat had remained stored after the Texas Giant ride reopened in 2011 following a $10 million renovation.

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Published on: September 22, 2013

Stadium Safety Issues Emerge Again after Another Season of Football Begins

By Carabin Shaw

On September 8, 2012, opening weekend of football for the NFL, a spectator fell to his death at San Francisco 49ers stadium while attending the game. The spectator fell to his death from a pedestrian walkway outside of the stadium. Multiple witnesses told police that the victim appeared to be intoxicated at the time of his fall. That very same weekend, two fans were injured when a railing collapsed inside Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, during a Colts game against the Oakland Raiders. Luckily, neither of these fans were seriously injuries. Unfortunately, however, these incidents are just the latest in a series of deaths and injuries at sports stadiums across the United States over the past several years.

Recent Accidents

According to the Institute for the Study of Sports Incidents, based at the University of Southern Mississippi, since 2003 there have been more than two-dozen cases of fans falling at stadiums across the country. On August 13, 2013, an Atlanta Braves fan was killed at Turner Field in Atlanta after falling 85 feet from a fourth-level railing of the stadium onto a parking lot below. In addition, during a pre-season NFL football game this year, a Denver Broncos fan was injured when he fell 10 feet from an escalator. Finally, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas in 2011, a spectator fell to this death from the left-field seats after trying to catch a ball tossed towards him.

Premises Liability

In addition to complying with local and states laws, all stadiums must also comply with the strict safety guidelines instituted by the International Building Code, which has been adopted by all 50 states and the District of Colombia. Among the guidelines are various railing requirements, including calls for railings in front of seats to be at least 26 inches high, and a requirement that protective railings placed in open-sided areas such as concourses be at least 42 inches in height.

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