Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 8, 1993 TAG: 9310080260
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
William Moser suffered serious head injuries the night of Jan. 23, 1991, when he fell into a dug-out basement area of a building at Salem Avenue and Market Street.
Black plastic had been stretched over the hole at floor level, on strings where floor beams normally would be, creating an appearance of a floor in the darkness. Investigating a door that had been pried open, Moser stepped on the plastic and tumbled about 8 feet into the hole.
A lawsuit filed in Roanoke Circuit Court claims the plastic covering "was tantamount to a hidden trap."
Moser, who is permanently disabled and suffers memory loss as a result of the accident, is suing D. Baker and Company, the firm that was renovating what is now Emerson Creek Pottery, and developers Richard Wells and David Saunders.
If Moser is to collect any of the $4.3 million he seeks in damages, his attorneys will have to maneuver around a Virginia law that bars many lawsuits brought by police officers.
The state's "fireman's rule" prevents most suits brought by injured firefighters or police officers, on the theory that they assume certain risks in the line of their work.
Attorneys for D. Baker, Saunders and Wells have used the fireman's rule as a main defense in the case. After they succeeded in having an initial lawsuit thrown out, Moser's attorney, William Cleaveland, filed an amended lawsuit this week.
The second lawsuit contains more specific allegations that the developers knew that police likely would be at the site, given reports of burglaries in the area. Moser's attorneys also may argue that because he was not reponding to an emergency, his claim should not fall under the fireman's rule.
by CNB