Guest at apartment complex cannot sue over fall at traffic island
Kenneth Vegh tripped and fell over a parking lot traffic island while running to hisson's apartment. As the guest of a tenant, he was owed a duty of reasonable care, meaning that the apartment complex owed the duty to eliminate any condition which it knew, or should have known, presented an unreasonable risk of injury. He claimed that the apartment complex owed a duty to make the traffic island less of an obstacle. The court pointed out, however, that Vegh was running to escape a storm that had wiped out power to the parking lot lighting system and also rendered the area unusally dark. The island curb is such a common feature that the apartment complex owners owed no duty to eliminate it and Vegh should have anticipated that one might be present. Since the complex's owner had no opportunity to correct the lighting problem before Vegh was hurt, it owed no enforceable duty to him and was not responsible for his injuries.