Scheier V. Jersey Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill

Scheier v. Jersey Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill On February 9th, 2002, Jodie Scheier slipped and fell in Jersey Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill after leaving her seat at a booth upon being called to collect a door prize. Jodie claimed that there were two steps awkwardly positioned that led to the booth, which caused her fall and the subsequent injury of her right index finger. As a hairstylist, Jodie relies on the use of her hands and fingers, and was unable to work properly because of the injury. Jodie did not mention her fall to anyone working in the restaurant, and continued to order three more drinks after her slip. No one in the restaurant found out about the slip until “several weeks later” when it was mentioned to the manager by a third party. Many other patrons had stumbled on, but not fallen because of, the two steps that led up to the booths in the sports bar. A splint was placed on Ms. Scheier’s finger for approximately 6 weeks, and she returned to work as a hairdresser after 10 weeks. Upon returning to work, Ms. Scheier found it quite difficult to carry out routine tasks, and gave up her job after 4 months.
Duty of Care
Jersey Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill owed Jodie a duty of care. It is reasonably foreseeable that Jodie could have injured herself by tripping, especially since other patrons had stumbled on the same steps in the past. Also, according the British Columbia Building Code “…stairs shall consist of (a) not less than three risers in every flight of interior stairs except within dwelling units and where otherwise acceptable,”
Standard of Care
Jersey Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill breached their standard of care by having only two steps, whereas the British Columbia Building Code states that there must be three. They also did not have any special markings or lighting strips to make patrons aware of the awkwardly placed steps.
Causation
Jodie may argue that the failure of Jersey Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill to meet the building code