Court Opinion

ID: 9561680
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:14:01.988357+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:14:10.593532
License: Public Domain

Judge Lewis
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I see no basis for a finding of proximate cause under the facts presented in this case.
In her complaint, plaintiff alleges negligent design, construction and maintenance of the stairway and ramp area, a gently-sloped asphalt area leading from the steps to the parking lot. Plaintiff testified at deposition that she “just slipped on that slick asphalt slanting” but admitted there was no foreign or slippery substance on the asphalt. Plaintiff said: “My foot slipped on that asphalt is what throwed (sic) me.” The day of the incident was cold, bright and dry. The evidence also shows that plaintiff had walked up *149and down the same place approximately 30 days earlier and again only 15 minutes before she fell.
There is no evidence that the absence of a handrail, as required next to the steps by the building code, had anything to do with plaintiff’s fall. Nor is there evidence that the design, construction or maintenance of the steps or slope brought about plaintiff’s fall. The assertions of negligence per se resulting from the violations of the building code are irrelevant. As a matter of law, plaintiff has not shown that negligent design, construction or maintenance of the steps and ramp proximately caused her injuries. I would affirm the trial court’s order granting summary judgment for defendants.