Slip and Fall on Chewing Gum Lawsuit

In Wyatt v. Furr's Supermarkets, Inc., 908 S.W.2d 266 (Tex. App. - El Paso 1995, writ denied), the court was confronted with a question of unreasonable risk where the plaintiff's fall was allegedly caused by slipping on chewing gum. See id. at 269. In that case, the trial court wondered "how many times has everyone in this room stepped on gum without tripping ?" Id. The same question applies to the probability of someone being injured by pulling on a locked door. A condition presenting an unreasonable risk of harm is defined as "one in which there is a sufficient probability of a harmful event occurring that a reasonably prudent person would have foreseen it or some similar event as likely to happen." Seideneck v. Cal Bayreuther Assocs., 451 S.W.2d 752, 754 (Tex. 1970). Thus, an owner or occupier of land can be charged with knowledge and appreciation of a dangerous condition on his premises only if from a reasonable inspection a reasonably prudent person should have foreseen a probability that the condition would result in injury to another. See id. Evidence of other injuries attributable to the same condition would be probative, although not conclusive, on the question of unreasonable risk of harm. See id.