Many people enjoy going to the movies once in a while, to eat some snacks and check out a new movie. Going to a theater is supposed to be a pleasant experience, not one in which a serious injury occurs. However, inside the viewing rooms, the entire space has to get dark to show the film. This makes it more difficult to see any hazards that could be in your walking path. Also, the theater will have a snack and refreshment area that can have spills and create slick patches on the floor. The food preparation process can lead to slip and fall hazards at the concession stands as well.
The property owner of a movie theater is responsible for keeping the premises safe. They may be liable for visitors who are injured because of a wet floor or other factors. As a premises liability lawyer can explain, visitors may have a claim against the property owner if there was a dangerous condition that went unattended to or not fixed completely, the owner was aware or should have known about the hazard, and/or the owner did not repair or post enough warnings.
Here’s a real life example of how a slip and fall could occur at a movie theater. Let’s say that an employee was picking up trash and tidying in a theater, but hadn’t looked out for spills to mop up after the first showing of a movie. Once the previews for the next show started, the theater lights dimmed and new theater-goers started to enter and find their preferred seats. But a leak coming from the ceiling went unnoticed by both the staff member and guests, which led to a patron slipping and falling on the stairs, resulting in a broken hip. The movie theater owner may then liable, as the team at Council & Associates, LLC can attest, because the facts presented in this example satisfy the requirements needed to establish liability:
- A condition that was dangerous to theater-goers went unattended to (the ceiling leak which caused a puddle to form on the stairs below).
- The owner should have ensured safety by noticing and addressing the ceiling leak, which posed a danger to visitors.
- The owner failed to properly fix or post warnings about the ceiling leak, which led to a patron getting seriously injured and needing medical attention.
Each slip and fall case is different, and can happen virtually anywhere. These types of accidents are categorized under personal injury law, which means that another party is responsible for what happened. So everyday people suddenly become victims in the situation, where they have to nurse injuries they wouldn’t have had otherwise. By pursuing compensation from the property owner or other at-fault party, victims can get proper medical care, repayment for lost wages from missing work, and other ways their life has been impacted by the accident.
If you are someone that was in a slip and fall accident, even if it wasn’t at a movie theater, it’s wise to consider what your options are in receiving financial compensation for what you endured. The last thing anyone deserves when going out for some fun at a movie theater is sustaining a serious injury because a puddle or other hazard went unattended to.