Paula and Gabe attend the formal gala event to celebrate the opening of the city’s new convention center and symphony hall. Paula, who is wearing a long evening dress, steps onto the escalator to enjoy the second-floor view overlooking the atrium. Paula’s gown, however, gets caught between the moving escalator step and the guide mechanism on the side of escalator. On reaching the second floor, the mechanism pulls on Paula’s gown, causing her to fall and be injured. This situation is most analogous to which of the following scenarios?
Explanation
Answer: A - A passenger is injured when his scarf catches the door of a city bus and the bus starts to pull away. The situation with Paula and the escalator is the most analogous to Answer A because both involve a person who is injured while interacting with or using a publicly owned or maintained device (the escalator and the bus), and both the convention center and the bus system owe high duties to their invitees/passengers. Answer B is less analogous because, although the race track owes a duty to protect spectators, the spectator may have assumed some risk, and did not interact with any mechanical device on the race track property. Answer C is less analogous because the duty of care owed by Landowner to Friend is lower than the duty of care owed by the convention center to Paula (as an invitee), and Friend did not interact with the ATV. Answer D is not analogous because the retailer did not owe a duty to the chef (the knife has an obvious and inherent danger), and a knife is not a mechanical device.
