The plaintiff tripped and fell on a municipal sidewalk, sustaining a rotator cuff tear.
She brought an action against the municipality for failing to maintain the sidewalk in a reasonable state of repair.
The court found that a height differential of 3/4 to 1.25 inches existed between sidewalk slabs, constituting a state of non-repair that the municipality failed to identify or repair.
However, the court also found the plaintiff 50% contributorily negligent for failing to pay attention to where she was walking.
Damages were assessed and reduced by 50%, resulting in an award of $107,765 to the plaintiff and $5,000 to her husband under the Family Law Act.
