Poyner v. Loftus
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
694 A.2d 69 (1997)
Legally blind Poyner (plaintiff), who saw only six to eight feet ahead and used no cane or guide dog, navigated a familiar elevated walkway route using bushes as a guide, but one bush was missing the day he walked it; when someone called his name near the missing bush, Poyner turned toward the voice and kept walking, then fell about four feet off the platform and was injured. He sued the property owner, manager, and business owner (defendants) for negligence, and the trial court granted summary judgment finding him contributorily negligent.
Whether a blind individual may be found contributorily negligent for failing to exercise due care for his own safety with respect to known or reasonably foreseeable dangers.