Law Reporter: Casino patron trips over box: Negligent placement in public walkway: Broken hip, pelvi

Casino patron trips over box: Negligent placement in public walkway: Broken hip, pelvis: Settlement.

Waldrup v. Tunica Partners II L.P, Miss, Panola County Cir. Ct., No. 99-0010-KF, Mar. 2001.

Waldrup, a 68-year-old retiree, was a patron at a casino. As she moved from one bank of slot machines to another, she tripped over boxes the casino had stacked in an aisle where customers walked from one area to another. The boxes were being used as part of the "hard count" that casinos are required by law to perform, in which coins and slot machine tokens are continually counted.

Due to her fall, Waldrup suffered a broken hip and pelvis, which caused her severe pain. Her medical bills totaled approximately $29,000. Waldrup's husband suffered loss of companionship and consortium.

Waldrup and her husband sued the casino, alleging that its stacking of the boxes in a public walkway created a hazard to those invited onto the premises. They claimed that the dark-colored boxes were not very visible against the dark background of the carpet.

Defendant asserted that no other patrons had ever tripped over the boxes and that it was required to conduct the hard count in exactly this way due to gaming regulations. Discovery revealed, however, that the casino's manual on conducting the hard count made no reference to a specific required location for the boxes.

After mediation, the parties settled for a confidential amount.

Plaintiffs' expert witness was Robert Pickering, orthopedic surgery, Memphis, Tenn.

Plaintiffs' Counsel

*D. Briggs Smith, Batesville, Miss.

Documents in this case are available through the Litigation Resources section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Smith.