Personal Injury Law

Case Law Update: Evidence in Slip and Fall Case

Mister v. Northeast Illinois Commuter Railroad Corp., No. 08-2234 (7/9/09) found that in an action seeking recovery under Federal Employers Liability Act for injuries sustained by plaintiff-railroad worker when he slipped while going to car in employer parking lot, Dist. Ct. did not err in excluding report of defendant's safety officer indicating that others told him that similar accident occurred at location where plaintiff incurred his injuries. While Dist. Ct. improperly found that said statement did not potentially qualify for admission as admission by party opponent under Rule 801(d)(2)(D), said evidence was properly excluded under Rule 403 where said report contained several layers of hearsay, and where author of report had no personal knowledge as to location of either plaintiff's or third-party's injuries. This seventh circuit case will have a great impact on slip and fall cases.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog on July 14, 2009 (boomark / email).