WORKING IN THE LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

WORKING IN THE LAW - Essay Example Those who advocate for the abandoning of this doctrine recommend comparative negligence, which is considered more equitable than this.2 When applying contributory negligence, the person who is injured ends up being forced to bear all the losses despite the losses having been caused by a second party’s misconduct.3 The person who is injured in this case assumes the collective burden while the defendant is given a chance to avoid taking personal responsibility for having caused the injury in question4. Spencer Dalyan Vs. Samson Singer This case involved two friends Mr Singer (who is my client, the defendant) and Mr Spencer (the plaintiff). Mr Spencer used to go visit Singer, his friend who was a contractor in Los Angeles. Spencer liked seeing new buildings under construction and would go visit the construction sites even when his friend Singer was absent. At times, Singer would even call Spencer to go and check whether his casual labourers had done the work assigned to them in c ase Singer was not able to make it to the site. One Friday evening, Spencer went visiting the construction site near some posh neighbourhood he was interested in settling there some day. During this visit, he happened not to inform Singer since it was sort of a routine when he was free and did not see the need to call his friend to inform him of this. Spencer climbed up to the second floor of this new unfinished building to have a clear view of the ocean. Unfortunately, while standing on the edge of the balcony, he happened to step on a wet blast that had been placed some few minutes ago before the workers had closed the work. This happened because he was so curious of the view and forgot to look at where he was stepping. Spencer slid and fell down the building but was lucky to have sustained fractures on his jaw and hand with some bruises on the lower part of the limbs. Court case for contributory negligence Various contributory negligence issues were presented by both parties: Pla intiff Spencer sued his friend Singer for damages since there was no sign indicated that the place should not be accessed until it dries and no wet floor warnings had been put and therefore Singer should foot the bills and pay for contributory negligence by paying damages to injuries sustained by him. The plaintiff Mr Spencer argued that Singer should have put signs to show that the concrete was wet and warn anyone to be careful not to access the floor. Alternatively, he argued that the entrance to the floor with wet concrete should have been sealed. He therefore demanded that Singer takes full responsibility for contributory negligence which led to the injuries. Defendant (my argument) When presenting the case to court against the suit, I argued that the plaintiff was fully responsible for his injuries since they occurred out of personal negligence. I raised various issues to defend my case. First, the claimant was not an employee to my client Mr Singer and therefore not authorized to visit the construction site. This meant that the building was only accessible to the workers of Singer and no other person unless it was completed and opened to the public. Second, the plaintiff neglected the fact that this was a building under construction and therefore wet concrete was inevitable and should have taken time to look at where he stepped first before he made the move. He was hence not concerned with his safety and this negligence led to his slide. Thirdly, the claimant did not even inform the defendant that he was visiting the site in his