By Michael R. Jackson, Shareholder
Our firm handles all manners of cases – in this case, a Wisconsin lawsuit over injuries at a brewery. In a Wisconsin town that brands itself as “Little Switzerland” and holds an annual Octoberfest in the tradition of the German folk festival “Oktoberfest,” one of our German clients visited a brewery that is open to the public.
The brewery is not only fully operational, but also serves as a tourist attraction with tours, a museum, a gift shop, and a beer garden. The brewery perpetuates the European theme throughout its property by using old world fonts, German words and phrases, simulated European architecture, and marketing a beer called “Staghorn Octoberfest.”
The rear exterior area of the premises contains the beer garden with picnic tables, as well as architectural features, such as archways, grottos, statues, arbors, free-standing walls resembling ruins, stones, and various stone steps leading to plateaued areas with more of these architectural features. Some of the steps and stairways on the exterior of the premises were equipped with handrails, but there were no such handrails on any of the steps and stairways in the rear exterior area containing the architectural features.
Our German client, excited to visit a piece of home in the U.S.A., walked down these stone steps and slipped and fell on a layer of ice that had accumulated under the layers of snow, suffering a head injury. There were no warnings, and the weather that day had been cold, wet, and inclement, putting a reasonable property owner on notice that the property needed to be inspected and maintained in order to protect the general public.
Experienced U.S. Personal Injury Attorneys
Jackson Law International has offices in both the United States and in Germany, and our attorneys are highly experienced in personal injury law. Our German-speaking clientele, in particular, turns to us because we blend nearly 30 years of individual experience in personal injury law with native German-speaking proficiency to ensure that nothing is lost in translation.
Our attorneys have appeared in cases throughout the United States, achieving multi-million-dollar results in several U.S. states.
Wisconsin Lawsuit against Brewery
Finding an experienced litigator is critical to advance your case. In this case, Jackson Law International filed a Wisconsin lawsuit over injuries at the brewery in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The gist of the claim was that the brewery had a duty to exercise ordinary care in a manner to render the Subject Premises reasonably safe including. but not limited to:
- enacting policies and procedures to discover and remedy unsafe conditions on its premises;
- diligently inspecting and maintaining its premises in a safe manner;
- designing and constructing the exterior premises, steps and stairways in particular, to promote safety amongst its users;
- furnishing safety devices and safeguards, such as handrailing along all of the exterior steps and stairways;
- adopting methods and processes that are reasonably adequate to render the premises safe; and
- providing adequate notice and warning relating to the condition of the exterior areas of the premises.
Jackson Law International argued that the brewery knew of the ice accumulation under the snow or by the exercise of reasonable care should have discovered the dangerous condition. We also argued that the brewery’s actions in leaving its premises in such an unsafe and hazardous condition, without the premises being properly maintained for the appropriate weather conditions, created an unreasonable risk of injury or damage to those visiting the brewery – such as our client.
Ultimately, Jackson Law International achieved a favorable settlement in its Wisconsin lawsuit over injuries at the brewery on behalf of our German client. If you have suffered a similar injury, i.e., a fall on business premises, we look forward to assisting you.
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© Jackson Law International 2021