TT&H Attorney Julia Morrison wins summary judgment in Cumberland County negligence suit

Julia Morrison, an attorney in TT&H’s Harrisburg Office, recently won summary judgment in Cumberland County.  The case sounded in negligence and concerned a foot injury sustained by the Plaintiff.  In the suit, the Plaintiff claimed that the injury occurred after her vehicle ran over a ladder.  According to the Plaintiff, Julia’s clients failed to secure the ladder to their truck, causing the ladder to fall onto the roadway.  During the course of the case, however, Julia discovered indisputable evidence that the Plaintiff’s foot injury did not actually occur when she ran over the ladder.  Rather, after pulling off the highway a second time, the Plaintiff decided to walk through tall grass to access the passenger side of her vehicle.  She injured her foot after stepping into a grass-covered gully on the side of the road.

Based on these facts, Julia argued that her clients’ alleged failure to secure the ladder was not the legal cause of Plaintiff’s injury.  Agreeing with Julia, the Court found that a series of events, “most of which amounted to [Plaintiff’s] own decisions and actions and an ill-maintained property adjacent to the highway,” broke the chain of causation such that the failure to secure the ladder was not what ultimately caused the injury.  In granting Julia’s Motion, the Court found that Plaintiff’s injury simply could not be viewed by an ordinary person as the natural and probable outcome of the ladder falling from the truck.

Questions about this case can be directed to Julia Morrison at (717) 441-7056 or to jmorrison@tthlaw.com.