Your Job, After All

Q: I was a security officer.  While patrolling a hallway at a manufacturing plant, I slipped in a puddle and fell. I had not seen the water in the hallway prior to my fall, but upon falling I realized that my clothing was wet and sensed that water had been seeping from a large metal container that was used by the owner’s personnel in the manufacturing process.

My supervisor says that he found no water on the floor in that area, but admits that the owner’s personnel would put water in the containers and that sometimes there was water on the floor as a result of cleaning work.

A fellow security officer says that she patrolled the same area about 2 hours before I did, and saw no water at all.        

A: Because you were a security officer, the owner’s attorney may contend that you had been hired to detect precisely such a condition as this water, and accordingly should not be permitted to recover.  Nevertheless, even if the owner can establish that you were hired for such purposes as detecting a water spill, it is not at all certain that this would serve to insulate the owner from liability.

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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