Water, Water Everywhere

Q: One afternoon, while going down the stairs in the building where I live, I slipped and fell.  From the traffic over the generations, every stairway step has a depression in it, capable of holding water.  Because the steps are made of marble, any liquid is difficult to see.

Usually, the super would have Jane do the mopping, in the morning.  This day, Dick did an unscheduled mopping, in the afternoon.  He put out no signs indicating that the floor was wet, he must have let the mop get dirty, and he did not dry up the water.  It was covering the entire second floor. 

After falling, I noticed that my pants were wet, that there was a mop bucket with dirty water within five feet of the stairway, and that the exterior door was propped open with a mop handle.  After I got up, I saw the super using the mop to dry up the floors and steps.

A: The one thing you don’t tell me is that someone actually saw water on the steps on which you fell.  All the same, you have an abundance of circumstantial evidence, from which the causal sequence may be inferred.  Your attorney will not hesitate to argue that excess water on a floor is circumstantial evidence of excess water on the flight of stairs beneath it.

By: Scott Baron,
Attorney at Law Advertorial

The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice.

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