In the middle of I-25 in Albuquerque are numerous chain restaurants. One such restaurant is the Texas Roadhouse. Anyone who has been to the restaurant is aware of the unique signature of the restaurant. Peanuts. Lots of peanuts. Considered a torture chamber to anyone with peanut allergies, the restaurant encourages patrons to not only eat the free peanuts, but to scatter the shells throughout the restaurant all over the floor.Recently, a premises liability or slip-and-fall claim arose out of Texas from an injury that occurred at one of the restaurants. After eating, a woman slipped and fell on some of the shards and sustained a serious injury. The case went to trial and the jury recently awarded over $96,000 for the injury. Aside from housing one the same restaurants, the case brings to light New Mexico premises liability law.
Generally in New Mexico, the owner of a property is responsible if a visitor is insured due to a dangerous condition of defect that the owner created, or should have known about yet did nothing. As with the Texas verdict, juries often focus on comparative fault and essentially ask why the victim didn’t look where they were going. However, this is not enough to avoid responsibility. Even with comparative fault, a New Mexico slip and fall attorney may be able to recover damages for their client in such cases.
Pardon the pun, but client’s the recovery is New Mexico slip and fall cases is often more than just peanuts.