slip and fall

CaughtOnCamera: Man Sues Washington Metro After Planting Banana Peel

U.S Maurice Owens sued the D.C. transit authority for $15,000 after he claimed he slipped and fell on a banana peel in an elevator in the Potomac Ave. station. But new footage reveals that Owens is the one who put the peel on the floor in the first place and he’s now been charged with second-degree fraud. By Lee Moran / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, November 27, 2013, 9:03 AM Maurice Owens alleged he slipped and fell on a banana peel inside a Washington Metro station in early August. Security video captured Owens staring into the camera — and no noticeable banana peel on the elevator’s floor. Throughout the security clip, Owens reaches into his pocket repeatedly. It is believed he purposely dropped it and faked his fall. Owens’ lawsuit against the Washington Metro was tossed out and he was charged with second-degree fraud for planting the banana peel and pretending to slip on it. Post a Comment » Daily News Readers alert Going forward, the Daily News will require new users to register to the site using full names in order to comment on stories. If you have an existing Daily News account and you registered with only a screen name, that name will still be valid. If you are an existing user and you registered using both a screen name and your full name, your full name will appear on comments posted after October 21, 2013. We are always seeking new ways to improve your experience […]

Proving Your Slip And Fall Injury

Slip and fall accidents occur every day. Often, these mishaps result in serious back, neck or knee injuries that severely impact the daily lives of people who experience them. Florida is an extremely tough state when it comes to proving fault in slip and fall cases. In order to do so, there must be proof that a shopkeeper was aware of the dangerous conditions that caused the accident. First stated in Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc. , and later codified in Florida Statute § 768.0755, Florida requires the injured plaintiff to prove that a foreign transitory substance (i.e., a liquid, banana peel, etc.) was on the floor for a length of time sufficient enough for the shopkeeper to become aware of the condition. What does this mean in terms of a real slip and fall case? What this statute does is effectively shift the burden to the plaintiff to somehow prove how long the substance was on the floor. But, how does one prove this? One way is for the injured party to be able to testify that the substance looked dirty, had shopping cart tracks through it, or that the banana peel was brown. There is actually a case where the court went into great detail using the fact that the banana peel that caused the accident was brown as evidence for their case. The banana peel, they alleged, had to have been on the floor for a sufficient amount of time because it was brown. Had it […]