AMC Found Not Negligent After Movie-Goer Falls
When moviegoer Karen Sims of Independence, MO, visited the AMC Independence Commons 20 Theatre complex in December of 2013, she expected to laugh a lot while viewing her movie of choice, “A Madea Christmas”. But Sims quickly discovered she had nothing to laugh about when she tripped and fell while exiting the theater, causing injuries to her left knee and foot.
Because Sims felt that inadequate lighting provided by the AMC Theater complex caused her to misjudge her footing and stumble, she thought it prudent to get consultations with several personal injury lawyers to determine whether or not she was entitled to receive compensation from AMC to cover the medical expenses associated with injuries that she considered to be “permanent, progressive and disabling.”
Sims ultimately hired personal injury attorney James Montee to represent her in legal negotiations. But when AMC was not forthcoming in offering any sort of acceptable settlement, the case went to trial before a jury. This week a jury in Jackson County found that AMC Entertainment was not guilty of any negligence that contributed to Karen Sims’ fall and the injuries she subsequently sustained.
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AMC Theatres was founded in 1920 by a trio of brothers, Barney, Edward and Maurice Dubinsky, who were once involved as travelling performers. They opened their first AMC Theatre in downtown Kansas City. The company currently operates 346 movie theatre locations throughout North America, with an additional 86 theatres in mainland China.
John Franke, the attorney representing AMC in the Sims personal injury case, argued that her lawyer, James Montee, failed to meet the burden of proof required to demonstrate that the operators of the AMC Independence Commons 20 were guilty in any way of negligence in causing Karen Sims to trip and fall while exiting one of their theatres following a performance in December of 2013. Franke contended that Mrs. Sims and her family did not exhibit “ordinary care” when leaving the theatre. Rather than sitting through the credits on the film and waiting until the full house lights
came up, Mrs. Sims and her party choose to exit the theatre rather than remain seated for an additional five minutes.
Sims’ attorney, James Montee, expressed concern that AMC, based in nearby Leawood, failed to send even one representative of the company to testify at the personal injury trial. Montee questioned why everyone associated with AMC was “too busy” to make time to testify at the trial and suggested that they were concerned about attending and being embarrassed at the harm their negligence had caused one of their movie patrons.
When asked about the decision of the jury not to award her any damages or compensation for the pain and suffering she has endured since her theatre fall in December of 2013, Karen Sims seemed philosophical about the trial outcome. She noted that “twelve of my peers made a decision” and that action seemed “fair” to her despite its negative outcome on her behalf.
Guest Author: Archie Ward
[…] AMC Found Not Negligent After Movie-Goer Falls – When moviegoer Karen Sims of Independence, MO, visited the AMC Independence Commons 20 Theatre … she thought it prudent to get consultations with several personal injury lawyers to determine whether or not she was entitled to receive compensation … […]