Kansas City Attorneys Obtain Defense Verdict After Trip and Fall Trial

Kansas City Partner Matthew A. Tate and Attorney Blaine P. Smith prevailed in the District Court of Johnson County, Kansas on behalf of our restaurant client in a case involving a trip and fall incident.

This case arises from a lawsuit filed by Plaintiff, a patron of our client’s restaurant, who alleged she tripped on a rug in our client’s restaurant entryway and sustained a broken femur. Plaintiff claimed she noticed the bunched-up rug in the restaurant’s entryway upon arrival, but was distracted when leaving the restaurant, contributing to her tripping on the rug.

In their Motion, Litchfield Cavo attorneys Matthew Tate and Blaine Smith argued that the Kansas’ “known or obvious” doctrine provides that landowners have no duty to protect visitors against/warn them of hazards that are known or obvious. At trial, our attorneys contended that it was unlikely Plaintiff tripped on the rug, and that even if she did trip on the alleged hazard, she was aware of its presence.

In August 2025, the jury agreed with our attorneys’ arguments and found that our client owed no duty to Plaintiff, and therefore bore no liability for any damages, returning a verdict in favor of our client.

Matthew efficiently counsels clients in a broad range of insurance coverage and business litigation matters, including catastrophic injury, wrongful death and other complex cases.

Blaine has experience handling commercial, insurance coverage and construction matters, and assisting business clients with finding viable solutions to their legal issues.