In the state of Florida, owners of private and public properties alike are charged with maintaining their premises in a safe condition. This entails ensuring all their pedestrian walkways are clear from exposed wires or cables, or otherwise adequately warning of or blocking off these areas from passersby until they can safely remove them. If not, invited visitors may wrongfully get injured after encountering one. For more on this, please continue reading to learn how you can get injured by an exposed wire or cable and how an experienced Tampa slip and fall lawyer from Merricks Law Group, P.A. can help you take the right steps afterward.
How can I possibly get injured by an exposed wire or cable?
A wire or cable simply lying on the floor may be seemingly harmless. Yet, it may potentially cause injuries in any of the following ways:
- You may experience an electric shock from the live current of an exposed wire or cable.
- You may get burned from the heat generated by the high electrical currents of an exposed wire or cable.
- You may incur vision impairments if sparks from an exposed wire or cable with a live current fly into your eyes.
- You may get crushed by a heavy wire or cable that falls from its unsecured location on a wall or ceiling.
- You may trip and fall over a wire or cable lifted from or running across a designated walkway.
- You may get cuts or abrasions from a frayed wire or cable present on a designated walkway.
What should I do after encountering an exposed wire or cable?
Whether you simply spot an exposed wire or cable on a public property or encounter one in an unfortunate way, you must notify the property owner. While you track them down, you may ask the nearest staff member to guard the area or otherwise take measures to barricade it to avoid any further accidents. For your personal accident, you may also ask a property owner or staff member to conduct an official incident report on your behalf. This may be in addition to taking photos of the exposed wire or cable at your accident scene and seeking medical attention for your potentially incurred injuries.
The exposed wire or cable in question may pose a more dangerous hazard, though. For example, you may have reason to believe that a live current is running through it, causing it to overheat and spark, and that fire is imminent. In such a scenario, you must notify emergency services in addition to the property owner. Please let professionals safely remove this wire or cable rather than handling it yourself. The last thing you may want or need is to unnecessarily worsen your injuries. From here, you may ask these first responders to file an accident report on your behalf, administer initial medical care, and more.
There is no sense in waiting any longer if you know you require financial compensation now. So please reach out to a skilled Hillsborough County personal injury lawyer from Merricks Law Group, P.A. today.
