A St. Louis jury has awarded $5 million to a pedestrian who suffered severe leg fractures after tripping on a defective public sidewalk near the City Museum. The verdict, returned on September 10, 2026, resolves a premises liability claim brought by Sumner Law Group on behalf of the injured client. The case underscores the legal obligations of public entities to maintain safe sidewalks and the consequences when they fail to act on known hazards.
The fall occurred on an uneven stretch of public sidewalk in one of downtown St. Louis's busiest pedestrian areas, steps from an attraction that draws families and visitors from across the region. The injured pedestrian required five surgeries and a lengthy recovery. At trial, evidence revealed that the defective sidewalk had been reported roughly ten months before the plaintiff's fall—four years before trial—and no repair was ever completed. The City of St. Louis had known about the hazard for ten months prior to the fall without even inspecting the sidewalk, let alone repairing it.
Under Missouri law, a public entity can be held responsible for a dangerous condition on its property when it had notice of the hazard and a reasonable opportunity to fix it. This exception to sovereign immunity is set out in RSMo § 537.600. The case, tried by Brent Sumner and John Greffet of Sumner Law Group, with co-counsel Adam Bragee of Walton Telken Bragee, argued that the city's failure to act on a known hazard left pedestrians exposed to a foreseeable risk in a corridor used daily by residents and tourists heading to and from the City Museum.
"This verdict was never only about one injury," said John Greffet, attorney at Sumner Law Group. "The city was told this sidewalk was dangerous and had ten months to do something to address it. Our hope is that this result finally impacts the way the City responds to citizen complaints regarding dangerous sidewalks, so the next person walking to the City Museum makes it there safely."
Brent Sumner of Sumner Law Group emphasized the broader implications: "Insurance companies and public entities know that we take cases to trial when that is what it takes. When a city knows about a dangerous condition and fails to fix it, accountability matters. Those are exactly the kinds of cases we are prepared to put before a jury."
Premises liability claims against a public entity in Missouri carry procedural requirements and, in some circumstances, statutory limits that distinguish them from claims against private businesses. Sumner Law Group handles these matters for injured people throughout the St. Louis area. The verdict signals that municipalities may face significant liability when they ignore known dangers on public walkways, potentially prompting more rigorous inspection and repair protocols to prevent future injuries.
