The Associated Press reports "the Michigan Supreme Court, in a 4-3 order, has refused to throw out Sheri Schooley's lawsuit against Texas Roadhouse in suburban Detroit."
Schooley sued the restaurant after a mishap with a toilet paper dispenser. Schooley said she was injured in the restroom at the Texas Roadhouse.
"I reached and the cover of the toilet paper dispenser fell down on my hand. It looked like the dispenser was up but it wasn't latched. At first I thought I was all right. I thought it was just bruised."
Turns out her hand was broken. She says she lost her ability to grip things and had to quit her job as an administrative assistant. She says her bowling score has also suffered.
The lawyer for the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, Scott Feuer, said he was disappointed in the decision:
"If the court is going to find something as innocuous as a toilet paper dispenser as a dangerous condition, then what wouldn't be?"
Nolan Erickson, a lawyer, said on The Injury Board Blog Network that "this order gives juries an opportunity to decide when premises owners should be held responsible for their actions. It is not a guarantee that juries will always find landowners accountable – instead it is a chance for injured people to have their day in open court. And that is all Sheri Schooley asks."
