The property owner could be the one to blame, but the facts might indicate that a different individual was the one at-fault.
Questions that would relate to the property owner
Did that owner cause the accident?
Did the owner cause the condition that contributed to the accident’s occurrence?
Was the owner aware of the dangerous condition?
—Did the owner know about a tear in the stairs’ carpeting, but put off the job of fixing it?
—Had an employee told the boss/owner about at protruding nail in a floorboard, but found that his/her discovery did not trigger an effort to correct the problem?
Should the owner’s awareness of conditions on the property have included the danger that caused the accident?
—Perhaps the stairway had been poorly constructed: Should the owner have recognized the contractor’s failure to create a well-constructed staircase?
—Had the owner approved the layout for a courtyard at a mall, even though it contained outdoor stairways that had no guardrail?
Questions that would relate to the injured victim
Had the victim been careless?
Had the victim’s eyes not been focused on the objects in the path that he/she had chosen to travel?
Had the victim tried using a stairway that was not supposed to feel the weight of any adult?
Did the victim fail to make use of an existing handrail?
Was the danger that caused the victim’s injury an obvious one? Had the victim ignored a warning sign?
Could the victim have avoided the danger? Could the victim have walked around it, or stepped over it? The significance of the answer to that question could be great, if the accident had occurred on a staircase.
—Some property owners request introduction of a stairway with a tile or polished wood surface, instead of stone, carpeted surface, or wood panels. The latter surfaces are not as slippery as a tile or polished surface.
—Stairs that are outside of a building should have a non-slip surface.
Could someone else be held accountable for the accident on the stairs?
Had someone scheduled an event at a location that had no alternative to the stairs, which led to an outdoor entrance? Had that event planner failed to take account of the fact that someone in a wheelchair normally attended that particular, scheduled event?
Had the person that was confined to a wheelchair inquired about the existence of an alternate way to reach the entrance? Had he or she been told that there would be among the other attendees, those that were certain to offer assistance to someone in a wheelchair?
A failure to check on the safety of a venue, and still guarantee someone’s safety would qualify as the epitome of negligence, as per personal injury lawyer in Kingston.
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