Broken Chair Accident
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You May Have An Injury Claim Following A Broken Chair Accident

We use chairs every day without thinking even for a second that we could fall off a broken chair. We do not think about it much, but many chairs are poorly maintained, defective, broken and damaged. Sitting on one of these chairs can cause the chair to collapse, resulting in severe injury to the person who was sitting on the chair or attempted to sit on the chair.

In the vast majority of cases, people who fall off broken chairs are not to blame for the accident. Depending on the circumstances involved, if you are injured as a result of a broken chair, you may be able to pursue a product liability or premises liability claim to seek compensation. The attorney at Mayer & Associates, P.C., can review the facts of your case and assess whether a lawsuit makes sense.

Collapsing Chair Accidents In Kansas City

Broken chair accidents injuries range from back damage, head injuries and broken limbs to bruises, cuts and lacerations, and even severed fingers. The type of lawsuit that you can file (premises liability vs. product liability) and the parties you can sue after a collapsing chair accident depends on where your accident occurred:

  • Public area
  • Private property
  • Public transportation
  • Restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, clubs, cinemas, theatres, etc.
  • School
  • Workplace
  • Home

Who May Be Held Liable For A Broken Chair Accident?

The parties that can be held liable for a broken chair accident depend on where the accident occurs:

  • Home: If you fell off a broken chair at home and you or your family members bought that chair, you may be able to sue the manufacturer of the chair as long as the chair was used as instructed by the manufacturer (in a reasonably foreseeable manner). Other parties such as the distributor, seller, manufacturer of parts and components, and others may also be included in your product liability claim.
  • Public area: Let’s say you attempt to lower yourself onto a chain at a shopping mall, shopping street, bus station, sidewalk or park and the chair collapses, causing you bodily injury. If that public area is owned, controlled and maintained by the city, municipality or government, you may be able to file a premises liability claim to recover damages because government entities have a duty to regularly inspect and maintain chairs and seating provided for public use. However, you will need to speak with an experienced broken chair accident attorney in Kansas City or elsewhere in Missouri, because filing a premises liability claim against a government entity has special requirements and limitations.
  • Public transportation: If you fall off a broken seat while riding bus, train, tram or any other means of public transportation in Kansas City or anywhere else in Missouri, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the owner of that public transportation. The owner can be either a public or a private entity. Since literally hundreds or thousands of people of different body types sit on those seats on public transportation daily, owners have a duty to regularly inspect and maintain these seats to prevent injury to passengers.
  • Restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, clubs, cinemas, theaters or any other private property: A broken chair accident can ruin your night out in an entertainment venue such as a restaurant, bar, café, or movie theater or any other private property. Owners of private properties that allow invitees to enter their property with the property owner’s knowledge and for their mutual benefit have a duty to ensure that the seating they provide for use is safe and not broken, damaged, or defective.
  • Workplace: If a broken chair accident occurred in the workplace, you may be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits. More often than not, you do not need to prove that your employer failed to ensure that the seating is safe for use in order to recover damages.
  • Schools: Schools in Missouri bear an even greater responsibility to ensure that their chairs can be used by children. If your child suffered an injury in a broken chair accident at school, and your child or any other child did not intentionally cause damage to that chair, you will be able to sue the school on your child’s behalf.

Let Us Review The Facts Of Your Case

Regardless of how you or your loved one got injured in a broken chair accident, you may want to consult with our injury lawyer. Call our offices at 816-692-2877 or use our online contact form to schedule a free case evaluation.