Following an injury on someone else's property, you might be concerned about your medical expenses or lost wages from work and think about taking legal action. The average person lacks the expertise to know whether he or she has grounds for a personal injury case, which is why it's important to consult a legal professional. If your injury occurred in a bowling alley during a visit with family or friends, it's important to assess the various factors involved in the injury to learn whether they might help—or hurt—your case. Here are some such factors.
The Shoes
People commonly rent bowling shoes when they visit a bowling alley, and walking in these slick-soled shoes can sometimes be a challenge. If you slipped and fell, you unfortunately cannot simply blame the shoes for what could have been your clumsiness. However, it's worthwhile to assess whether something was wrong with the shoes that contributed to your accident. For example, if you noticed upon further inspection that one of the soles was loose, and thus contributed to your fall, your personal injury lawyer could argue that the bowling alley was negligent in not maintaining proper upkeep of its rented footwear.
The Balls
Bowling balls present somewhat of a risk in certain scenarios, given their weight. If you were to drop a ball on your foot, especially before changing into your shoes, it's possible that you could sustain a broken bone. However, dropping a bowling ball and hurting yourself doesn't mean that the bowling alley was negligent in any way. If part of the alley's equipment led to the dropped ball and subsequent injury, though, you could have a case. An example could be that the ball return system wasn't working properly and caused the ball to roll off and land on your foot.
The Conditions
Some bowling alleys are lively at night, with bright lights, loud music, and other similar effects that frequently give them the appearance of a nightclub. Bowling in such conditions can be fun, but they also present some injury risks. You could fall, for example, because of being disoriented by the combination of darkness and bright lights. Again, a fall doesn't necessarily suggest negligence on its own. You and your attorney will need to demonstrate that the bowling alley didn't exercise care to make the area safe. For example, if stairs and other changes in elevation weren't visibly marked, even with the lights low, this is a form of negligence.
