Brinson Ford, Inc. v. Alger

In Brinson Ford, Inc. v. Alger, 228 S.W.3d 161 (Tex. 2007), the plaintiff was injured when she fell from a pedestrian ramp while visiting a car dealership. Id. at 161. By affidavit in response to a motion for summary judgment filed by the dealership, the plaintiffs expert evaluated the risk of harm arising from the ramp by reference to the Texas Accessibility Standards ("TAS") and acknowledged that the ramp complied with those standards. Id. at 162. The supreme court upheld summary judgment in favor of the car dealership, holding that, "as a matter of law, the ramp at issue in this case did not pose an unreasonable risk of harm." Id. at 163. The Court held that a pedestrian ramp was not an unreasonably dangerous condition as a matter of law. The court noted that the ramp met applicable safety standards; that it "was further outlined in yellow stripping that the dealership added, which is a common method used to indicate a change in elevation"; that the highest unrailed portion was lower than an average step; and that no one had been injured on the ramp in over ten years. Brinson, 228 S.W.3d at 163.