A Kentucky couple has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million after the husband suffered severe injuries in a 20-foot fall at the house of a longtime friend in Crystal Beach, TX.
Jeffrey Earl Fox and Julie Fox filed a complaint Aug. 25 against Ryan Douglas Canter and Mindy Canter in the 405th District Court of Galveston County, Texas.
The complaint says that on or about Aug. 27, 2021, Jeffrey Earl Fox visited the home of his childhood friend, Ryan Douglas Canter, and they talked for several hours outside on the deck, until after dark. The home, it says, is a one-story house, encircled by the deck and built on stilts, approximately 20 feet above the ground.
That evening, the complaint says, “something in the night sky” was noticed by Fox, who rose from his chair and walked toward it for a closer look. As he walked, says the complaint, he ran into the railing and tumbled over it, resulting in grievous injuries.
The complaint says Fox suffered multiple fractures, a traumatic brain injury, and contusions of the lung.
“His injuries caused him to suffer severe blood clots and he was paced in a medically induced coma for nearly a month, during which he could only breathe through a ventilator,” the filing said.
The complaint says dark conditions on the deck contributed to Fox’s accident.
“The wooden railing surrounding the deck area has lights built into its posts,” it said. “However, these lights were not turned on or were not
functioning properly on the night of this incident, creating a dangerous condition on the premises.”
The complaint contends the Canters have premises liability and “owed him a duty of reasonable care to either warn Plaintiff of a known
dangerous condition or to make reasonably safe any known dangerous condition.” The plaintiffs also allege negligent activity and
negligence.
The Foxes are asking the court for compensatory damages for past and future physical pain and mental anguish, medical expenses and
disfigurement. They also seek interest, attorney’s fees, costs of court and all other just relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by William S. Webb of Kraft & Associates, P.C. in Dallas.