Accident in cinema - what action should I take?

Keeping_Positive

Yes agree care in the dark - But if there are lights to aid you would expect them to help not be missing at the bottom and cause confusion.

hartcjhart

Keeping_Positive wrote: »

Yes agree care in the dark - But if there are lights to aid you would expect them to help not be missing at the bottom and cause confusion.

and I agree there,BUT,care should still be taken when moving around in dark areas,lamps can blow and not all places have sparkies on site. perhaps the OP should carry one of these

DCFC79

I rarely look at the lights when im going down the steps and have yet to fall and break anything

hartcjhart

as 'devils advocate' for the defence,
How come the OP did not trip while going UP the unlit step?

Keeping_Positive

DCFC79 wrote: »

I rarely look at the lights when im going down the steps and have yet to fall and break anything

Neither did I until one Sunday morning. It doesnt take much to hurt yourself. Just missing a step lead to two ops and 5 days in hospital. Yes my fault entirely for it but I still cant beleive how much I hurt myself. I ve done less as a child falling from top to bottom!

I do think that having the last light missing would have caused just that split second of confusion which is all it would have taken for the OP to think she was at the bottom

4743hudsonj

Forgive me if im wrong, but i believe its a legal requirement of places like cinemas to have permanent low level lighting (ie the floor lights) under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It may be worth finding out

A) if this is correct (im 99.9% sure it is) and
that knowing of this issue and not fixing it is in breach of these.


Even with that aside i cant believe some of the comments, if some people had their way everybody would sit nicely until the lights came up and carry a maglite around with them to use for extra safety. Dunno what world they live in but OP, i can understand, i often see people stumbling over even with the lights on. I also know what it feels like to tear every single ligament in your ankle so i appreciate that too!

hartcjhart

4743hudsonj wrote: »

Forgive me if im wrong, but i believe its a legal requirement of places like cinemas to have permanent low level lighting (ie the floor lights) under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It may be worth finding out

A) if this is correct (im 99.9% sure it is) and
that knowing of this issue and not fixing it is in breach of these.


Even with that aside i cant believe some of the comments, if some people had their way everybody would sit nicely until the lights came up and carry a maglite around with them to use for extra safety. Dunno what world they live in but OP, i can understand, i often see people stumbling over even with the lights on. I also know what it feels like to tear every single ligament in your ankle so i appreciate that too!

I think they call it the real world,where accidents can and do happen

deanos

We could make this saga into a film !

Lip_Stick

I remember spraining my ankle years ago, when I thought I could miss a step on going down a few stairs, changed my mind and ended up standing on the side of my ankle.

Christ it hurt! Went to A&E, had it bandaged up and on taking the bandage off sometime later, it looked like I had cartoon toes lol. When someone gets hit on the toe and it grows huge, they all looked like that. Guess it was the blood. I cried buckets at the time and genuinely thought it was broken, having suffered a pretty mild strain at a few times in my life.

Anyway, OP I feel for you, spraining your ankle can be a nasty business and really debilitating. I would write to them detailing what happened and await their response, probably put what you expect from them.

Also, people leave the cinema at various times whilst the film is still on, so that shouldn't be an issue. It's stupid to think you are bound to sit until 10 mins after the credits are finished and the lights are all fully on.

Optimist

hartcjhart wrote: »

I think they call it the real world,where accidents can and do happen

Accidents do happen in the real world where no one is to blame however there is a difference between a accident which can not be foreseen and one caused by negligence.

The law which actually goes back to the 1930s defines negligence as doing something in which you can reasonably foresee will injure someone by your actions or inactions.

The bottom light was out, the light is there to specifically prevent people tripping in the dark and it is also a legal obligation

The OP has stated that staff were aware and had reported it. Given the facts as stated there is a good chance that the management of the cinema are liable.