Gochin v. Wal-Mart Stores

By Judge Thomas D. Horne

Plaintiff claims damages resulting from defendant’s negligent maintenance of a sidewalk. She allegedly fell from contact with an uneven surface at an expansion joint. It is agreed that the uneven expansion joint which caused the plaintiffs fall was no more than one and a half inches in height.

Defendant had a duty to maintain the pavement in a reasonably safe condition for pedestrian travel. City of Newport News v. Anderson, 216 Va. 791 (1976). This duty is the same as lhat owed by a municipal corporation. Medical Center Hospital v. Sharpless, 229 Va. 496 (1985).…