A woman who tripped and fell on a collapsed “wet floor” sign at a Cincinnati, Ohio, casino was awarded $3 million by a jury last week.
The jury found that Jack Casino in Cincinnati did not “use ordinary care” to maintain a safe environment for customers like Lynda Sadowski, who tripped over the trampled sign in September 2016 and suffered injuries as a result of the fall, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Sadowski’s attorney, Matt Nakajima, said an employee walked around the sign moments before the injury, which caused her to have surgery to repair a broken kneecap.
Nakajima said her mobility in that knee has declined since the accident and added that she might have to have a second surgery.
“The casino had no safety policies in place for floor inspection or fall prevention and had no criticism of the employee’s failure to pick up the trip hazard even though its own internal documents found her at fault,” Nakajima said.
“The casino’s callous disregard for their customers’ safety was on full display throughout the trial,” he added.
An attorney for Jack Casino argued that the “wet floor” sign was visible enough and that her injuries had to do with “[her] failure to pay attention to her surroundings.”
“[Sadowski] cannot recover for her injuries because she had superior or equal knowledge of the alleged hazard,” the casino stated.