Memphis Injury Lawyer Blog

Many years ago when I was a Memphis "baby trial lawyer", I met my first serial killer, George Howard"Buster" Putt. As is the case with many lawsuits, this one took many twists and turns. You see, Mr. Putt had brutally murdered five Memphis residents in 29 days. This resulted in the State of Tennessee, Shelby County and the City of Memphis offering rewards in varying amounts for the arrest and conviction of a suspect. The way that this criminal matter morphed into a civil action for damages is unparalleled in my thirty years of experience in the practice of injury trial law.

On September 11, 1969, Putt in an apartment house at 41 N. Bellevue in downtown Memphis. Wayne Armstrong, soon to become my client, heard a commotion from a room adjacent to his. Specifically, Armstrong heard a woman's screams. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his trusty .38 caliber snub nosed revolver. Throwing open the door to his own apartment, Armstrong ran almost into Buster Putt who was covered in blood and was just leaving the apartment of his last victim, Christine Pickens. Pickens was a receptionist for a dentist in downtown Memphis. As with his other victims, Putt had sliced her to ribbons.

Armstrong pursued Putt out of the building clad only in his boxer shorts. Once the chase hit Madison Avenue, several other men joined chase and Armstrong began to blaze away at Putt with his short barreled revolver while running down the middle of the street in his undies.Putt was not hit by the hail of gunfire. He jumped over a fence and after tumbling down onto what is now an Interstate highway, he was apprehended by the Memphis Police Department.

During the 29 day reign of terror and confusion, three separate rewards were posted by various government agencies for the capture of the "crazed sex killer". George Howard Putt went to prison and I went to court as the parties who participated in the chase could not agree on how the rewards were to be divided, if at all. Suffice it to say, this remarkable story made for some interesting courtroom moments. This baby-faced deviant had one thing in common with others of his ilk. He had cold dead eyes. I shall never forget those eyes.

Over 1,600,000 refrigerators made by Maytag under a variety of brand names were recalled due to a present danger of fire. Given the number of units and brands involved, it approaches a near certainty that Memphis and Tennessee trial attorneys will be faced with client issues respecting these products.The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has gotten 41 reports of fires, some of which included the following brands and types:

Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag and Crosley brand side by side and top freezer refrigerators

Between 2003 and 2005 the CPSC reports approximately 378,700 home fires that resulted in 2740 deaths; 13,090 injuries and over $5.61 billion in property damages related to these catastrophes.In this particular case both side-by-side and freezer over refrigerator models are included, but not freezer below refrigerator types.

Do not delay in determining whether or not you have one of these time bombs in your home or business. If you have had a refrigerator fire, the statute of limitations in Tennessee would allow a lawsuit for property damages to be filed within 3 years after the fire event. To paraphrase Smokey The Bear, only you can prevent a refrigerator fire. Here is where the serial number is located to investigate the refrigerator you may own:

Memphis Trial lawyers, as well as, Tennessee trial lawyers face both the civil law and criminal law results of violent crime. Not only do the victims of such events seek legal counsel, but if the property where the violent crime happens is a leased apartment, for example, then the owner of this premises may have severe legal consequences too. Usually, liability for injuries of this type boils down to a question of "foreseeability".

For example, on March 7, 2002, at approximately 11:45 a.m., L.C. Miller, a tenant in Jefferson Square,one of several public housing projects owned by the Memphis Housing Authority (“MHA”), argued with the housing project’s security guard, fired shots in the direction of his office, and struck and killed Charles Cornelius Brown, Sr., another tenant at the facility who happened to be in the office area at that time. Brown was not involved in the argument. Miller was subsequently shot by the security guard, who was an employee of Scruggs Security and Patrol, LLC (“Scruggs”), a private company which provided security at the facility at the time of the shooting. A wrongful death lawsuit followed against the MHA and the guard company.

The trial court held that neither the internal policies of MHA nor the contents of the criminal background check of Miller created any duty to the Plaintiffs under these circumstances. Moreover,after observing that a policy excluding those with prior records(from renting) would result in “a massive underclass of ex-convicts homeless due to an inability to find housing,” the trial court rejected the Plaintiffs’ argument that there was an affirmative duty on the part of MHA to conduct a criminal background check on prospective residents.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal in favor of MHA, holding that “an isolated violent outburst by . . . Miller was [in]sufficient to notify MHA that criminal acts against its tenants were reasonably foreseeable, either generally or at some particular time” and, in consequence, insufficient to give rise to a duty (on the part of MHA) in these circumstances.

The Tennessee Supreme Court granted permission to appeal. They noted, that the landlord and tenant qualify as having a special relationship. Further, violence in a housing project is, generally speaking, foreseeable. Poverty is common in such areas. In consequence, precautions are warranted. The Court found that the record establishes that MHA, aware of this potential danger, took some measures to guard against violence. In 1996, criminal background checks extending over a period of three years, a credit history report, and a home visit were warranted for a variety of reasons, including safety. The question, of course, is whether MHA, with some general knowledge of criminal activity within its housing complexes and a particular knowledge of Miller’s altercation with another tenant four years earlier, could have reasonably foreseen the probability of a violent act. We think so.Giggers v. MHA case opinion.

In order to guard against becoming a victim, the following video will provide some important information:

Violence & Street Crime: Violent Crime Safety

Just last week, a West Tennessee family flirted with death by suffocation. This Lake County family, had an improperly vented heater that poured carbon monoxide fumes into their home. Early in my career as a trial lawyer, I handled my first two carbon monoxide death cases. This cause of death is often times connected to either improper venting of a source of this silent killing gas or a heater that inefficiently burns its fuel. Of course, space heaters are not the only potential threats.
Gas water heaters, pool heaters and, for that matter, propane BBQ's can all emit deadly amounts of this odorless, colorless and tasteless gas.

In 2005, two people died from carbon monoxide exposure by running propane buffers, both of which occurred in the workplace. In addition, the Tennessee Department of Health reported that in 2006 there were 11 unintentional deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning and approximately 150 people who suffered carbon monoxide-related injuries. In 2007, six more people died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in Tennessee.

The deaths to which I made reference earlier happened in Paris, Tennessee and at Chucalissa Indian Village (over 30 years ago) which is just south of Memphis. In both cases, the product that was functioning properly became a death machine due to improper venting which resulted in a gas trap which then creates a self-perpetuating problem. In other words, the more CO in a space, the less efficient a heater will be in burning all of its fuel. The by product of this vicious cycle is Carbon Monoxode.This video will help explain why:

Falls can be crushing for men and women, not to mention the heavy impact on their Memphis families. I recall a case a few years ago when my client fell 6 feet from a scaffold striking the back of his head on the edge of a steel plate. This incident brought to me the weighty obligation of a trial lawyer. My client was rendered a paraplegic and the future welfare of his wife and kids became my responsibility.

Yesterday, Memphis Fire Department crews rescued two men who fell inside a silo at an asphalt company on Presidents Island. According to fire officials, it happened around 3:30 p.m., Thursday, January 29, 2009, in the 1900 block of Wharf Street at Channel Avenue. Officials say the two men were working on some scaffolding when it collapsed and they became trapped in the silo at Ergon Asphalt Company.

An article in the Journal Of Safety Research in 2003 studies work related deaths due to falls from scaffolding for the period on 1992 through 1999. The study considered 339 deaths. For the 6 years considered, 56 workers died each year from these necessary construction appliances. This computes on average to over a death a year for every state in the United States. As most of these catastrophes were avoidable,OSHA regulations became tighter.If you or a loved one works with these lifts, scaffolds or platforms please remember the lessons learned in the following video. If an injury occurs, please consult with an experienced trial lawyer. We can help.

School teachers have daily contact with our children. Almost all of these under paid educators are not only molding our young, but are protectors of them as well. Sadly, as a Memphis trial lawyer who tries cases all over our state, I have seen predators in sheep's clothing: teachers who rape their students. Whether this abuse is by consent of the child, the physical contact is not only criminal battery but it is also grounds for a civil lawsuit. But, not all situations are the same in all states. A Washington state appeals court has recently decided that their criminal law of rape of a child by a school teacher was only designed to protect students who were under the age of 18.

This issue is not isolated from the mid-south. A Sumner County school teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sex with several of her students who were under 18 at the time of the supposed conduct. Whether this woman (who must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt) is found guilty or not, the situation does highlight the problem for all of us.

Tennessee sexual battery by an authority figure law and Tennessee rape statutes both provide ample authority to punish those who take advantage of their positions of trust. In Memphis,if a child is sexually abuse by a teacher-predator, the law is there to deal with the situation from the criminal law perspective. However, such a convicted teacher can also be sued in civil court for the horrible injuries that result from such conduct:

CIVIL 8.02 Definition—Battery
A battery is any intentional, unlawful, and harmful [or offensive] physical contact by one person with another person. The intent required for a battery is not an intent to cause harm. It is an intent to do the act that causes the harm.
CIVIL 8.03 Right to Recover
A plaintiff who has suffered any bodily harm legally caused by a battery by a
defendant is entitled to recover damages from the defendant for that injury.

So if the wrongful physical contact is sexual or if the offensive behavior is hitting a child, there is a remedy. These types of violations do occur and parents need to be aware of what can be done so that another child does not fall victim.

If you are injured in a car wreck; have a contract dispute that winds up in court; or are an accused in a criminal case, a Memphis or Tennessee trial lawyer could not only represent you, but could also be a member of your jury. That is, if the trial lawyer doesn't have a bad case of body odor or if perhaps he or she may have already formed an opinion on the case. In a recent Massachusetts appellate court ruling, the trial judge was upheld for removing a juror because she had a case of felony body odor:

"There was a juror seated in seat No. 10, juror 6-5, . . . who I'd made inquiry of earlier. And I just want the record to reflect, I guess, to be blunt, [the juror], for whatever reason, had some very bad, I guess to be blunt again, body odor, which was extremely strong, and I was able to detect in my lobby, as was the clerk, which is a personal matter for that potential juror, but for the fact that her personal problem was [of] such a magnitude that other jurors who had already been picked . . . either by act or words had indicated discomfort with that problem." I know that this humorous example is extreme, to say the least, but some rather wild excuses have been tried in several cases both in Memphis trials and around the country.

In the Chicago R. Kelly trial, let's see what some creative citizens tried:

1. I have a teenage daughter. Several axed jurors provided this explanation for why they couldn't give Kelly a fair trial. "I would have a hard time see anything involving a child without thinking of my child," one man said.
2. I save lives. An oncologist was excused from duty after he told the judge that jury service would create a logistical nightmare for his patients.
3. I'm a cop One Niles police officer lasted only about two minutes in the interview room before he was dismissed because of his profession.
4. I'll change my vacation plans. Overeagerness to serve on the jury is a definite red flag to attorneys. When one man offered to rearrange a trip to see his parents, the prosecution bounced him for being starstruck.
5. I'm getting married! The judge dismissed one woman whose wedding was set for the end of June. He didn't believe she could concentrate on the trial amid all the pre-wedding prep. The woman, who sported a nice size diamond on her left hand, looked thrilled to be released.
6. Please call my mom When one juror failed to show up for service, deputies called his house and his mother answered. She told the court that she didn't know where her son was and that he hadn't been "right" since he was shot in the head a while back. The judge and attorneys agreed to let him off the hook.
7. I blame R. Kelly for Sept. 11. When the judge asked one prospective juror about his feelings regarding Kelly, he cryptically answered: "R. Kelly may have led the Taliban in attacking us on 911, but you can't prove it." You're right, we can't. In fact, we're fairly certain that no one has ever tried.

Juror selection or voir dire ( latin for "speak the truth") is probably the single most important part of trials. It is an art and not a science. The pool of potential jurors is first qualified for service based upon the language of the new statute. The Shelby County Jury Commissioner, Clyde "Kit" Carson, administers the methods used to select a fair cross-section of those who are included as potential jurors for each term of both civil and criminal courts. We are fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and dedicated public servant. Kit has, as a result of years of experience, heard every possible excuse. Suffice it to say,that if you attempt to shirk your duty (and privilege) of jury service with the old excuse that "My dog ate my notice to serve." you will face not only our commissioner but also a Judge. Each panel is examined by a sitting Judge whose duty it is to call the balls and strikes concerning both the qualifications of persons to serve, as well as the valid exemptions from jury service. By the way, it is a crime in Tennessee to ignore your notice to appear for jury service.

Here we go again. Another child mauled by a Memphis pit bull dog in less than 30 days. On December 1st, we posted an article discussing the dangers and laws that Tennessee trial lawyers see all too often when representing injured people. It has been said that the best predictor of behavior is a look into the past. Sadly, another child has become a victim in Memphis, Tennessee.

In this most recent case, the attacking pit bull was a "stray". The Memphis Humane Society investigates animal cruelty reports in Shelby County. For example, there is the case of Fudge.

Fudge was found in a ditch on Fite Road. A citizen was driving by and saw him laying there and at first thought he was dead. Then she saw him raise his head. She turned around and came back. When she got out, he wagged his tail. She got him in her car and brought him to the Humane Society.

Fudge had numerous bite wounds, a broken toe on his right front paw, his gums were pale, he had open wounds all over his legs, and he was malnourished. He had to have his leg put in a splint to stabilize the break. We also had to bandage his many wounds.

He was put on antibiotics and pain medications. His feeding schedule had to be slow at first because he was so malnourished. It took 3 days for his gums to return to pink. He may always have a permanent limp where the break was.

Fudge is about a year old. It makes you wonder how many strays that become viscious were made that way by the dog-fighting underworld. Apparently, dog-fighting as a blood sport is reported in newspaper accounts as early as the 1700's in America. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has investigated and reported this national disgrace for many years. Tennessee has very strict laws on abuse or neglect of animals. If you know of a case of animal cruelty or dog-fighting, call the Humane Society at 901-937-3900.

You may be saving your neighbors from injury or death. You may also be protecting the safety and welfare of a dog who would but for mistreatment be a loving pet and companion.

It never ceases to amaze personal injury trial lawyers, the variety of risks that Tennesseans are exposed to on a daily basis. Trial lawyers are prepared to deal with medical mistakes; foods that are dangerous to consumers and cars that are dangerous in one way or another. However, a very recent product recall has caught my Memphis trial lawyer eye. Yesterday, the Celeste Industries Corporation in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration voluntarily recalled its "Simply SmartRemove" towelettes.

These seemingly harmless moist towelettes were distributed in the United States and Canada by the Holiday Inn Express hotel chain as free in-room amenities. If you have visited a Holiday Inn Express in the Memphis area or elsewhere in Tennessee and have used these products, then you need to be aware of your risks. These cosmetics removers have been found to contain pseudomonas aeruginosa. This germ is commonly found in hospitals and is especially dangerous to those folks who are already ill from some other cause or whose immune system is already weakened.

This bacteria is especially hard to treat as it is usually drug resistant. These infections are usually treated with two antibiotics at once. Pseudomonas infections may be treated with combinations of ceftazidime (Ceftaz, Fortraz, Tazicef), ciprofloxacin (Cipro), imipenem (Primaxin), gentamicin (Garamycin), tobramycin (Nebcin), ticarcillin-clavulanate (Timentin), or piperacillin-tazobactam (Zosyn). Most antibiotics are administered intravenously or orally for two to six weeks. Treatment of an eye infection requires local application of antibiotic drops.

If you or a loved one have used these small, foil wrapped amenities towelettes and have developed an eye or other facial infection, you should seek immediate medical attention. If you took (Dare we say it?) some of these products home, I would suggest that you do not use them. Contact information is included in the recall information highlighted in red in the first paragraph of this article. However, also take care if you have developed a broader infection such as pneumonia or a heart infection both of which can arise from this nasty little germ.

You may recall that just last week I blogged about a daycare fire and its connection to the dangers of space heaters. Time and again, Tennessee trial attorneys are called upon to deal with the aftermath of fire disasters that are brought about by falling temperatures and these potentially dangerous products. Just today there has been a house fire in the Cooper-Young neighborhood. . To further highlight the importance of precautions, another house fire that is suspected to have been caused by a space heater happened yesterday, as well.

Please remember that as the holiday season progresses, you can save your own life and the lives of your loved ones too. Just be sure that there is a three foot safety zone around your space heater. Don't allow anything that can burn in that area and be sure that if something is tipped over, say a rack of clothes drying, that it will not fall onto the heater. Happy and safe holidays to everyone.

Yesterday, an Alamo, Tennessee off-duty police officer was driving by a daycare when he noticed smoke coming from the building. Without regard for his own safety, the officer rescued three children from a fire that has been tentatively determined to have been started by a space heater. The most severely injured child was airlifted to Memphis for treatment of burns. Whether or not the space heater was a dangerous or defective product or the fire was started due to consumer error, remains to be determined.

Trial lawyers deal with these sorts of issues on a daily basis. However, regardless of the cause of the fire, the absence of the daycare owner at the time of the fire could subject the facility to paying damages. Fire cases are a peculiar blend of facts and science. I have handled many of these cases through the years in most parts of West Tennessee and the surrounding area. It is also unusual for a fire to be discovered as was this one:

From 1990 to 1997. 57 children died as a result of daycare fault according to a recent study by the U.S. government. 13 million children are placed in non-parental daycare each year. Similarly, 25,000 residential fires are caused by space heaters each year resulting in 300 deaths according to another national study by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The joinder of these two "accidents looking for a place to happen" can be deadly. Should one of your loved ones or friends suffer harm from either or both of these dangers, consult a qualified and experienced trial lawyer. We can help.

The golden years are supposed to hold a time for Memphis elders to enjoy the fruits of their labors. As we age, and we all do, many Mid Southerners become caretakers for their elderly parents. This can result in being required to deal with Tennessee nursing care facilities. A sad sign of our times, remains the abuse of our senior citizens by those into whose care we place our mothers and fathers. Recently, trial lawyers have come to know just how horrible these situations can become. In Jackson, a Mississippi nursing home worker has been charged with abuse of her elderly patients. Due to modern technology, some of these incidents have been caught on camera, as you will see below:

In a recent study of 35 complaints of nursing home or elder abuse, some startling results were uncovered. It was found that the most common victim of this deviation from the reasonable expectations of care was a 76 year old white female. African American women of the same age were equally likely to be at risk, as well.

In response to these issues, Tennessee has established the Abuse Registry. Tennessee law defines abuse or neglect rather specifically. This link will allow you to both investigate and report incidents of neglect or abuse of your friends and family. In the event that you become convinced that abuse has occurred, please consult a trial lawyer who has experience in protecting the rights of those who are so vulnerable and unprotected. We can help.

As a Memphis trial lawyer, during the holiday season, I see many Tennesseans who have become ill due to food poisoning. This is, more properly, an illness that arises from a food borne pathogen. In private homes, restaurants and schools, special goodies will be prepared and stored. Many of these products can become the source of "food poisoning" (aka Montezuma's Revenge). While some can die from salmonella and others, most victims just feel as though they wish that they would die so that they can feel better. There are ways to protect your family from these stomach-wrenching conditions.

What follows, are some methods to prevent the growth of the micro-organisms which cause these illnesses.

Having been reminded of how to prevent the conditions, next we turn to the signs and symptoms of this group of conditions, when prevention fails.

I can assure you that no one loves to eat more than I. I can also assure you that eat, drink and be merry, is my holiday motto. Yet, what with food recalls (even chocolate Teddy Bears for goodness sake!) and food borne illness issues, I will still be cautious of what I eat and where I drink and with whom I am making merry. Happy holidays to all!

Chess nuts roasting by and open fire. The yule log all aglow. Sounds inviting, doesn't it. However, if your Memphis chess nuts are roasting by the fire from your living room couch, the picture is not quite so cozy.The National Christmas Tree Association estimates 36 million trees are sold each year. Christmas trees are involved in about 400 fires annually, resulting in 10 deaths, 80 injuries and more than $15 million in property damage.

The figures for Tennessee are shockingly similar. As a Shelby County trial lawyer who handles fire cases, I can tell you all that there is no more gruesome image than that of a horribly burned child or elderly adult. For example, 16 people were killed in Tennessee in 1989 during a single fire incident at a Johnson City Nursing home. It is amazing and frightening to see how quickly a Christmas Tree fueled fire can spread, as this video shows:

Rather than face a wall of flame, one must take a few simple precautions. The American Academy Of Pediatrics has a few common sense ideas on holiday safety or (en espanol). During this joyous time of year, we can only hope that our future is bright and that our precious families are safe and secure. Happy Holidays to all of you.

Last week a North Memphis family reported that a neighbor's two pit bulls entered their home and attacked them. Memphis has seen her citizens mauled to death by pit bulls in the past. As a trial lawyer who regularly practices in all Shelby County courts, I have seen my clients injured by dogs on occasion. However, as a dog lover myself and a Tennessee resident, I wondered whether or not some breeds of dogs were more likely than others to attack Memphis residents.

For example, in 1990 Betty Lou Stidham was attacked and mauled to death by two pit bulls in a quiet Memphis neighborhood. In this case, the dogs had a history of violent tendencies. They had previously attacked their owner sending him to the Emergency Room of a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Jefferey J. Sachs, M.D., MPH for the United States Centers for Disease Control studied various breeds that had injured or killed people. In Sachs' article, he analyzed many breeds of dogs that had attacked people over an extended period of time. This article is best summarized by a Chart of Bites by breed that is a part of the results of the study. As you can see, far and away the most dangerous breed was the pit bull. For example, animal control officers must approach this breed with the following event in mind:

In response to these kinds of situations, the Tennessee Legislature in 2007 amended the existing laws respecting animals that are likely to cause harm to others. Under T.C.A. 44-8-413, new standards were set with an eye towards protecting persons and property from the dangers we have seen above. The law requires owners to keep their animals under "reasonable control" and to prevent them from "running at large". The most interesting feature for lawyers, and perhaps the injured, is that the owner can be liable even if the dog has never shown violent or dangerous characteristics prior to the event in question. This new act may well protect a valuable asset: our peace of mind and our future safety.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported today that a young man has been charged with a crime in the accidental hunting incident that I commented on yesterday. As a trial lawyer who handles both personal injury and criminal cases in Tennessee, I thought that the interplay between these two types of matters, might well illustrate what can happen a case such as this.

The Arrest Affidavit charges the hunter under:

39-13-103. Reckless endangerment. (a) A person commits an offense who recklessly engages in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. (b) Reckless endangerment is a Class A misdemeanor; however, reckless endangerment committed with a deadly weapon is a Class E felony.

Reckless conduct is generally defined, in both the criminal and civil law contexts, as being a conscious disregard for the health, care or safety of others. You can see how closely these issues are connected by reading the Tennessee Pattern Jury instruction of the law that would be given to the jury to guide their deliberations.

From this incident you can see that a criminal charge, if it results in a guilty plea, can have a parallel civil action attached to it. If the injured person files such a lawsuit, the criminally charged defendant may not have significant assets from which to recover on the civil lawsuit side. However, many Homeowner's Insurance policies and some Renter's Insurance policies, may provide a source of not only payment to the injured party, but also can require the insurance company to provide a defense attorney to the hunter when (and if) he or she is sued civilly. This is yet another case where a bit of prior thought can help to protect your most precious asset: your future.

Personal Injury in a Tent

Many people are injured in stores, auditoriums, restaurants and the like. Often times the cause of the personal injury results from a "slip and fall". However, many people are hurt in unusual ways. Regardless of the cause, for an owner or occupier of a building to be held liable for the negligent injury of a visitor, certain things must be proven.

An owner must either remove or warn against any hidden dangerous condition on the premises which the owner knows about or should have known about by exercising reasonable care. In other words, an owner is not an insuror against an accident or an injury that is caused by a condition of his or her premises. So, if an owner is not aware of a concealed danger that results from ordinary wear and tear of house then the owner can not (all things being equal) be held responsible. To illustrate this point, let's look at an extreme example.

Gail and Larry Allen, were injured while attending the Saturn Automotive Homecoming on June 25, 1994. In a violent thunderstorm, the Allens took refuge in a tent displaying various Saturn automobiles. They subsequently took cover in one of the automobiles. The tent collapsed due to an accumulation of water on top of the tent, which caused a tent pole to hit the passenger's side of the automobile. The Allens were both injured as a result of the incident.Allen vs. Saturn Corp.

There was no proof that Saturn knew or should have known that there was any defect in the tent. In fact, the Allens never showed that there was any defect nor what the defect was. The Allens argued that because the tent collapsed in a thunderstorm, Saturn violated a duty of care to them. The Allens, in essence, wanted the Court to hold Saturn liable simply because there was an injury.

So, by failing to show what the defect in the tent was, if any, and what notice Saturn had of the defect, the Allens did not show (carry the burden of proof) that Saturn violated a duty of care (negligence) to them. In any injury case, the injured party (the Plaintiff) must show that the party at fault (the Defendant) owed him a duty of care; that this duty of care was violated; that this violation was the cause of the incident; and that the incident was the direct cause of any injuries that the Plaintiff suffered. If any one of these elements is not proven, the the injured person can not recover from the owner or occupier of a building. For these reasons, anyone who is hurt in an accident must have the matter carefully investigated and analyzed by an experienced civil trial lawyer. Without this professional approach, you can't protect what matters most after you are hurt: your future,