On February 15, 2007, in Wichita, Kansas, a three-year-old boy was hit and killed in a McDonalds restaurant drive-through lane. His name was Cody Schuber and he was catching up with his twin brother. He walked out of the restaurant into the path of an oncoming pickup truck. The two small boys were out having dinner with their grandparents.

This particular spot had been the scene of an accident about a year previously. Another small boy had sustained a broken leg when he ran out the McDonald’s door and into the side of a van traveling through that same lane.

Cody Schuber’s family brought a wrongful death lawsuit against McDonalds Corp. and the company that owns this restaurant. The lawsuit stated that the death had occurred in a blind spot caused by the design of the restaurant. An attached indoor play areas blocks the view so that drivers and pedestrians cannot see each other.

The lawsuit further stated that the restaurant was negligent because:

• It removed speed bumps that had previously been in place to slow down the parking lot traffic
• It refused to install signs to warn drivers and pedestrians about this blind spot
• It had allowed the painted crosswalk to fade and become hard to see for motorists

McDonalds has a duty to monitor the operations of its restaurants, said Larry Wall, who filed the lawsuit. It should have inspected the premises. The lawsuit seeks over $75,000 in damages each for Cody, for his twin brother, and also for the two-year-old child whose leg was broken in the 2006 accident at the same spot.

In our view here at Robert W. Kerpsack Co, unsafe premises should be exposed and any harm they cause should be compensated for. If you have been injured by the negligence of any property owner, please contact us for a free case evaluation.