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rulemylife -> RE: Man sues, claims he fell after stepping in feces (4/2/2010 10:36:26 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyEllen
A good point, if perhaps unwittingly made Pa.
The court should also look at the level of contributory negligence on the part of the claimant. He clearly wasnt looking where he was going but the question really is whether he could reasonably have foreseen that he might step in faeces, which comes back to the question of whether the store allowed or encouraged animals to go where they liked or forbade it.
If the store allowed or encouraged it then the claimant might have reasonably expected to find faeces on the floor and might be reasonably expected to take special care to avoid it. If the store forbade it then it would be reasonable for the claimant not to be expected to be on the look out and to take special care - and given the general duty on the store to provide a safe venue and experience it is far more likely that the latter applies and it would be unreasonable to expect to step in faeces, or indeed come to any other harm from merely perusing the store, and to be expected to take any special care. In that case the store has little defence by way of contributory negligence unless the claimant was warned beforehand of the danger in that particular area, verbally or by way of "slip hazard" signs being put in place.
E
There would be no contributory negligence, it was the company's responsibility to provide a safe environment.
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