HOUSTON - For the past decade, Bryon Jordan delivered bottled water to Texas Children’s Hospital, using the same wooden ramp each time.
On Feb. 12, 2014, he slipped and fell on the ramp while making his “second or third trip,” court records show.
Two years later, he filed suit against Texas Children’s, alleging that the “dangerously slippery wooden ramp” was an unreasonably dangerous condition that the Hospital knew or should have known existed.
On Aug. 30, the 14th Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting the hospital summary judgment, finding that the judge did not err.
On appeal, Jordan argued that Texas Children’s Hospital failed to conclusively prove whether he was aware of a slippery algae condition on the wooden ramp and whether the condition was open and obvious.
“To the extent Jordan contends that the evidence shows the Hospital had knowledge of the slippery condition of the ramp, the Hospital’s knowledge was not a ground on which the trial court could base its summary judgment ruling because it was not expressly presented to the trial court as a basis for summary judgment,” the opinion states.
“In any event, the Hospital’s knowledge of a slippery condition on the surface of the ramp does not raise a genuine issue of material fact on whether the condition was concealed. If anything, this evidence tends to show that the surface condition of the ramp was a pre-existing condition.
“A premises owner has no duty to warn or make safe a pre-existing condition that is open and obvious.”
Jordon is represented by Houston attorney Daniel Crowder.
Texas Children’s is represented by Frank Luccia, attorney for the Houston law firm Luccia & Evans.
Appeals case No. 14-17-00699-CV