When you enter a public place and notice an exposed wire or cable in your path, you may assume this is something you can simply step over and move on from. However, for the sake of your safety during your visit and other visitors who may enter this public place, you may have to take a more head-on approach to address these wires or cables. This is because they may pose danger more threateningly than they appear on the surface. With all that being said, please read on to discover who to notify about an exposed wire or cable on public property and how a seasoned St. Mary’s County slip and fall lawyer at The Dorsey Law Firm can help you take the proper actions whenever you should encounter one.
Who do I notify about an exposed wire or cable on a public property?
Say you notice a cable for a space heater or floor fan running across a pedestrian walkway on the public property. In this situation, you may carefully sidestep or walk over this cable to notify a property owner or staff member about its obstruction. While the cable itself may not be inherently dangerous, you may not want another visitor of the public property to trip over it and fall. Importantly, you should not attempt to fix it yourself, as you may very easily mistake this as a loose cable rather than a wire with a live electric current.
On the other hand, you may instead encounter a frayed wire in your walkway. Or worse, you may detect a downed power line in front of the public property. In either scenario, it may be in your best interest to call emergency services. This is because a frayed wire may severely electrocute anyone who comes into contact with it; a downed power line may lead to sparking and fires. In the meantime, you should still notify a property owner or staff member to block the area off from any visitors.
What other actions should I take after encountering this?
Unfortunately, you may notice an exposed wire or cable too late, and you may trip over it, get an electrical shock from it, or otherwise get injured from it. If this happens, you must act as though you will pursue a personal injury claim against the negligent property owner in the future.
This means you must take photos of the exposed wire or cable present on the public property, along with the visible injuries you incurred from it. You must also ask the property owner to conduct an incident report or ask emergency services to write an accident report on your behalf. Also, you should allow an ambulance to be called to the public property, and take it to get medically observed at an emergency room.
There is no sense in waiting any longer if you know you require financial compensation now. So please reach out to a competent Leonardtown personal injury lawyer from The Dorsey Law Firm today.
