Recently, a judge determined that a jury should settle the outcome for an injury lawsuit filed against Ervin industries. The jury will determine whether Ervin Industries should be held responsible for the injuries of an individual, Russell Albertson, who visited its Adrian plant. The visitor slipped on shotgun pellets on the plant floor.

The injury lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial by jury on August 16, 2016.

During the hearing that took place this past Monday before Circuit Judge Margaret M.S. Noe of Lenawee County, the attorney of the company argued that the visitor should be held responsible for failing to ensure his safety. After the hearing, Noe ruled that she could not grant a dismissal due to lack of certainty about the facts.

Russell Albertson, who was the man injured at the Adrian plant, claims that Ervin Industries should be held responsible for his severe knee injury. Albertson filed the lawsuit against Ervin Industries last year, but he suffered the fall on June 26, 2012. In the lawsuit, he claims that the shotgun pellets, which were manufactured at the Adrian plant, littered the concrete floor. He was on a business trip in the Adrian plant when he was invited to walk across the concrete floor. In the suit, Albertson states that he did not see the shotgun pellets before falling.

Rick Patterson of Auburn Hills, the defense attorney, argues that Albertson was informed of the risk that shot pellets could be on the concrete floors of the plant. Past rulings of the Michigan Supreme Court have determined that property owners do not need to inform visitors of a known risk. Patterson said there is no need to ensure premises are foolproof.

Patterson also argues that Albertson could have chosen not to go into the room of the Adrian plant with the spilled shotgun pellets.

The attorney of Albertson, Stuart Fraser of Mount Clemens, argued that it was not obvious that the floor was littered with shotgun pellets. Tom Howard, the plant manager, testified that he did not remember seeing the shotgun pellets on the floor before Albertson’s fall.

According to Fraser, this case should go to trial by jury, at the very least.