Patricia Nicola of Estero was viewing nature and snapping photos at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples on Dec. 8, 2007.
That’s when her right foot stepped on brown feces or mud on a damp boardwalk, causing her to skid several feet and fall, severely fracturing her right shoulder, according to a lawsuit she filed recently against the National Audubon Society, which owns the sanctuary.
“Despite the fact that the boardwalk was littered with these various accumulations of leaves and other droppings and was exposed to damp conditions, the defendant failed to clean the boardwalk to provide business invitees such as (Nicola) with a clean and safe area to walk, nor did defendant maintain the boardwalk with an effective skid-resistant surface,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also contends that there are no signs or notices warning the public that the boardwalk was slippery or that conditions could be slippery.
Is too much to ask people to pay attention to where they put their feet?
Every once in awhile I find myself wishing that the ice caps would melt just a tad faster to put these poor Floridians out of their misery.
Is that wrong?
Hey !!! C’mon people, anyone with kids can tell you shit happens.
Welcome to life
If you drive a car you are going to have to pay gas , license and auto insurance
If you enter a bird sanctuary there is a good chance you are going to be plastered
Sounds like an environmentalist who drives a big suv to the shopping mall because she “likes to feel safe”
Get a life or perhaps bird poop insurance
I hope she wins. How can a place operate in those kinds of conditions and expect to stay in business?
They need to have signs posted for every possible accident that may happen regardless of how obvious it may be to some or how minuscule the chance.
America is the private investment alternative to the Nanny State.
Slippery (slope) when wet!
What a group of self actualized individualists. Detailed facts are not presented so that our prejudices can be accurately applied.
When you go to a zoo, don’t you expect that the lion cage will keep the lions in? or that the aquarium glass will keep the water in? Or in this case that the walkways will be made of and designed to be skid resistant?
Its called reasonable expectations of the average person and all you hypocrites operate with that assumption everywhere you go, all the time.
Where the walkways defectively designed or maintained? Who knows?
bobbo said,
“When you go to a zoo, don’t you expect that the lion cage will keep the lions in?”
That is the essence of the argument.
Of course the customer should be aware of avian effluent in a bird sanctuary but that does not excuse the operator from an obligation to provide reasonable advisories and safety accommodations for customers.
Unfortunately, the reason we have any measure of protection is legal consequence… or is someone going to claim capitalism provides superior products and services to gain market share? If you believe that, you haven’t purchased anything lately.
She fell in the morning on a slippery walkway due to bird droppings. There were no signs warning her of that possibility.
Actually there was a sign, It said
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Swamp = slippery
Swamp = bird droppings at the very least.
Swamp = snakes
Swamp = gators in Florida
Swamp = Watch where the hell you put your foot.
There should also be a sign warning visitors that the wildlife sanctuary is an unsafe place in the event of a hurricane.
Those silly sanctuary operators probably think this goes without saying, but it really doesn’t. It should be on a sign that can’t be blown away in a hurricane.
Not a single argument put forth negates the obligation of the vendor. There is no question risk accompanies nearly every endeavor in life. However, when a 3rd party enters the equation, they legally inherit a portion of that risk. Where fees are charged, the obligations of the seller increase. That a buyer is ignorant or mentally incapable is a non issue as the vendor did not limit access to only those who displayed sufficient ability to evaluate the situation adequately.
Ipso facto: invite the public for profit and inherit a portion of the risk.
They got her car too!