A popular Orange County theme park has responded to customer lawsuits by initiating changes to its rides and facilities. When confronted by allegations of hazardous conditions, management of the park took immediate steps to repair or completely renovate the ride or area of the property where accidents and injuries could occur.
Unfortunately, owners of a huge regional shopping mall or a small neighborhood retail store cannot be counted upon to take the same approach to property management and customer safety as an internationally known theme park. Hazardous conditions that may cause slip-and-fall accidents are common occurrences as people go about their daily routines.
Walking through the produce section of a local grocery store where a wet floor or vegetable debris easily cause a person to fall might be far more dangerous than riding a roller coaster at a theme park. A negligent property owner who provides inadequate lighting for customers in parking lots or whose property suffers from a lack of repair is a bigger risk of personal injury for an individual than the crowds and attractions at a busy amusement park.
Some dangerous property conditions are obvious, such as a wet floor or a broken sidewalk, but there can be more subtle and equally as dangerous conditions lurking. Inadequate security at a shopping mall could pose a danger to a customer leaving the stores at night. A person walking through the parking lot to get to a car is at risk of being attacked unless mall security is doing its job.
If you suffer injuries while on someone else’s property, you might be entitled to sue the negligent property owner for compensation. An Irvine personal injury attorney in Orange County could be an excellent resource for legal advice about your rights under California law.
Source: Daily Pilot, “OC Q&A: How lawsuits have shaped Disneyland,” Brittany Woolsey, July 26, 2015