Thompson v. Buffums', Inc.

WHITE, J.,

pro

tem.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant in this action commenced by plaintiff to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in a fall while walking down stairs maintained by defendant at its store in the city of Long Beach. Judgment for defendant was entered upon the verdict, from which plaintiff appeals.

Each step of the stairway in question was equipped with what is known as “Wooster Safety Tread”. The tread consisted of a metal strip. When the metal strip was manufactured and originally installed it contained certain grooves. Between each groove was a raised metal abrasive strip. The safety feature of the tread consisted of a combination of open grooves and abrasive strips. Every alternate groove was open and the others were filled in with lead. Some time after the installation of the stairway in the store, the alternate grooves which were open were also filled in with lead.

[403]

With this accomplished, all the grooves were filled in, evidently because it was easier to sweep the tread if all of the grooves were filled than if each alternate groove were open. At the time of the accident here in question, a strip of this lead which had been filled in the groove on the tenth step had in some way, not apparent from the evidence, been removed from the groove next to what is termed the “nose” of the tread, leaving an open space about eighteen inches long in the groove. It was upon .this step that plaintiff’s shoe was caught, and she fell. In its answer defendant denied that the stairway was in a dangerous or defective condition; that it had any knowledge or notice thereof; and as separate defenses alleged that plaintiff’s injuries were the result of an unavoidable accident and that plaintiff was herself guilty of contributory negligence.

Appellant earnestly urges a reversal, mainly on the ground that the trial court erred in excluding evidence of prior accidents claimed, to have occurred in respondent’s store. In that connection, the record discloses the following: R. H. Cochran, assistant superintendent of respondent’s store, was called as a witness under section 2055 of the Code of Civil Procedure. In substance, he testified that he had been employed by respondent for fifteen years and had been assistant superintendent for seven or eight years; that for a number of years his position required his presence on the first floor, and that he was familiar with the stairs upon which appellant fell; that he was aware of the fact that the lead filling was gone from the tenth step prior to the date of appellant’s accident. The following questions were then propounded to him by appellant’s counsel: