What happened to Kelly is very unfortunate. However, for her to succeed in a negligence lawsuit, her claim needs to satisfy the following elements: First, a duty of care. For a person to sue another for negligence, there must be proof that the defendant had an obligation to act to ensure the defendant's protection (Deakin and Markesinis, 2019). Kelly, therefore, is required to prove that the airport owed her a duty of care. Once it is established that the airport had a duty of care, the plaintiff should prove a breach of that duty (Deakin and Markesinis, 2019). By leaving a banana peel lying on the floor, the airport failed to provide reasonable care as it ought to have done.
Kelly is then expected to show that it is the breach of duty that caused her to suffer a severe head injury (Deakin and Markesinis, 2019). To achieve the legal standard for showing causation, she will have to prove that she would not have suffered any harm if it was not for the airport's inactions. The last element that she will have to satisfy is an actual injury (Deakin and Markesinis, 2019). If the airport's inactions did not cause her any injuries, she could not claim compensation. However, if she can prove that she suffered bodily harm due to these inactions, she can successfully claim negligence.
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Legal Significance of the Brown Banana Peel.
The banana peel color is significant as it speaks to the duration of time that the banana peel had been on the concourse floor. While proving causation as one of the negligence elements, the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant could take necessary steps to prevent the incident from occurring (Deakin and Markesinis, 2019). Considering that civil matters are decided on a balance of probabilities, had the peel not been there for a long time, the employees would not have noticed its presence on the floor. However, the fact that it was brown shows that the peel had been there for a long time. Therefore, the employees could have taken steps to clean the floor and ensure all passengers' safety.
Will Kelly Win the Case?
Kelly is likely to win the case because her incident has satisfied the four elements of negligence. The airport owed her a duty of care and should have ensured a safe ground for Kelly as a passenger. Secondly, failure by the airport staff to clean the floor was a breach of duty of care. Thirdly, it is the failure to clean the floor that caused Kelly to trip over the banana peel. Lastly, as a result, she slid across the floor and banged her head on a metal counter, suffering a severe head injury. Kelly, therefore, should be compensated for her troubles.
References
Deakin, S., & Markesinis, B. (2019). Markesinis and Deakin's Tort law . Oxford University Press, USA.
