Casey Krueger vs. La Quinta Inn & Suites
(April 2017)
Mike Sistrunk obtained a defense verdict for LQ Management, LLC (La Quinta’s management company) following a 3 day jury trial in the 19th Judicial District Court for East Baton Rouge Parish. On August 22, 2010, Krueger was injured when he stepped on a large piece of glass while using the La Quinta pool. Krueger suffered a complex laceration on the bottom of his foot that severed several tendons and required surgical intervention. Krueger alleged that La Quinta was negligent in its operation and inspection of the pool and sought damages of over $350,000. La Quinta maintained that its employees regularly inspected the pool area and that the pool, and the surrounding area, was free of trash and debris when the incident occurred. Further, the plaintiff presented no evidence that a La Quinta employee was aware of the foreign body in the pool or that the foreign body was in the pool for any length of time before the injury. The plaintiff theorized that a full trash can in the pool area was evidence that the pool inspection was lacking. The jury found by a vote of 11-1 that La Quinta did not know, nor should it have known, of the defect in the premises prior to the injury and La Quinta was free from fault. As a result, judgment on the jury verdict in favor of La Quinta was entered by the trial judge.