Personal Injury Suits are NOT Out of Control. Ho Hum.

It's easy to say that personal injury suits are out of control.  There, I just said it.  But to make the point one way or another, you have to look at what is actually happening in the courts.  So, when you come across a case involving injuries suffered in a major hotel's revolving door, it's worth a look.  Tyree v. Westin Peachtree, decided last Friday, is just such a case.  In Tyree, the plaintiff "was injured while exiting the Westin hotel when an automatic revolving door allegedly lurched forward, striking her and causing her to fall."  In other words, the Plaintiff sued because she got hit by a door.  That's the kind of things good, reliable, anecdotes are made of.   The defendant set out three main points of defense:  that there was an instruction to "please step forward," that the hotel did not have any superior knowledge about the doors, and that the doors were properly installed and maintained.  The trial court entered rulings in favor of the defendant.  Basically it ruled that the doors were opening and closing in plain sight, and that the plaintiff could not bring a claim.  The court of appeals disagreed, finding that there was evidence that the hotel did not maintain or inspect the doors, and sent the case back to trial.