Appellate Victory: Joseph Comer Obtains Favorable Opinion from the Second District Court of Appeals, Affirming Summary Judgment on Behalf of Local Hospital

Joseph Comer recently obtained an appellate victory in the Second District Court of Appeals following a recent oral argument in that court. The appellate court affirmed summary judgment in his hospital client’s favor, which he won in trial court.

The plaintiff in the case had alleged he was injured on the hospital’s premises in a fall, suffering a broken ankle among other injuries. The appellate court agreed with the trial court that the plaintiff failed to elicit evidence to show that the hospital had actual or constructive notice of the condition, a pothole, that plaintiff claimed caused his fall. The plaintiff had relied on photographs to claim the pothole had been present for a sufficient amount of time to provide notice. Mr. Comer had elicited testimony from the hospital’s engineer that the condition could have developed within a matter of days. Further, the plaintiff had failed to present evidence of how long the condition existed. The Second District agreed that this prevented the plaintiff from proving that the hospital had constructive notice of the condition and summary judgment was affirmed. The appellate court took less than 30 days to render its decision.