PREMISES LIABILITY

HILLSBOROUGH CIRCUIT COURT

A jury ruled for a Tampa hotel after a woman claimed she slipped and fell in the lobby.

Crystal Thomas, 35 at the time of the July 2017 incident, claimed she fractured a leg and suffered a knee injury at the Aloft Hotel. She claimed the floor was wet after it had been waxed. Thomas never returned to work after the fall. Her attorney asked the jury to award $1.4 million.

The defense pointed to inconsistencies in Thomas' testimony and the testimony of a friend she met at the hotel. The defense noted Thomas had a history of accidents that she failed to disclose in her interrogatories and deposition. The jury issued a defense verdict.

Case: Thomas v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Management

Case No.: 18-CA-001783

Plaintiffs attorneys: Ryan T. Hughes, The Law Offices of Ryan T. Hughes, Safety Harbor, and Ryan Hutchinson, Hutch Firm, Tampa

Defense attorneys: Jeffrey W. Pearson and Stephanie Valentine, Law Office of Peter J. Delahunty, Maitland