Ruiz & Smart represented a woman and her husband after a hazardous store design at a store in Seattle led to a devastating fall and life-altering injury.
Our client, was exiting the store on a rainy day when she slipped on a wet terrazzo ramp concealed beneath the store’s roof covering. The ramp, made of a notoriously slick material, appeared dry but was in fact dangerously wet. Our client fell hard, fracturing her left kneecap in multiple places. She required open surgery and continues to suffer from chronic pain, limited mobility, and a permanently impaired knee.
The couple’s claims targeted both the national retailer and the property owner. Despite the store’s outdoor setting in a city known for rain, neither the retailer nor the property manager had implemented effective safety measures. Critical design decisions were made at the store’s headquarters, and no meaningful testing of the ramp’s slip resistance had occurred prior to our client’s injury. A wet floor cone was placed far from the ramp entrance and was not visible from her vantage point—a fact confirmed by video surveillance.
Expert testing revealed that the ramp failed industry slip-resistance standards, particularly when wet. The incident was witnessed by customers and emergency responders, who described the ramp as dangerously slippery. Surveillance footage captured our clients’ fall and the aftermath, including her transport by paramedics and the store manager’s downplaying of the incident in official reports .
The physical and emotional toll was immense. Our client’s recovery was compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the injury curtailed her active lifestyle and career. Her husband assumed full-time caregiving and household responsibilities during her recovery, leading to additional strain.
The case resolved in a confidential settlement.