In 1977 and 1978, Vladislav Bukreev, a physicist of unspecified qualifications, conducted a study of a London house that was supposedly inhabited by a poltergeist (a breed of ghost with the ability to exert force on the physical world). According to the live people who dwelt in the house, a number of alarming events would often take place within its walls without any physical impetus: windows would shatter, showers of stones and bricks would fall, objects would fly through the air, doors would bang open and shut, the walls would sweat various fluids, mysterious claw marks would appear on the family members, and the teenage daughters would be carried in midair by some invisible force. Naturally, the poor occupants were terrified, but they toughed it out for nearly a year before fleeing the house, apparently unable to take a hint.
Whether or not you believe in poltergeists (or in the handful of independently-created web pages that cite this story), you’re probably as likely to actually encounter one as you are to discover a lobster living in your pancreas. The Bukreev account is certainly disturbing, but far more families face far more threats of far more significant harms on a daily basis in houses and buildings where no poltergeist resides. These imminent threats often take the form of things that do not normally elicit fear—peeling carpet, wading pools, kitchen stoves, etc. Each year, 8 million emergency room visits are made because of slips, trips, or falls (the leading causes of injury in the home). Some are made because of burn injuries from boiling water or electrical fires; some are electrocuted by faulty electronic devices or outlets; others are bit by aggressive or frightened animals; and, in the case of small children, mainly, still more are poisoned. Forget malevolent supernatural forces. Natural forces beat them out long ago.
While many injuries are, of course, caused by clumsiness or distraction, a good number of serious injuries are sustained while the victim is at work, visiting a neighbor, or patronizing a public business. Those places that market goods and services, manage employees, or otherwise open themselves to public access are obliged to make sure that those places are safe for whoever steps onto the premises. When injuries occur that might have been checked by reasonable caution, the owner or proprietor of the place in question is liable to render damages to the victim. Sometimes a reasonable settlement is offered…but not always.
In cases where the responsible party does not cooperate with the injured party, a Utah personal injury attorney may be the answer to the problems of the latter. Personal injury attorneys may not, unfortunately, be any good when the only wrongdoer is a poltergeist; but when the culpable individual is a corporeal being, they tend to acquire 2-3 times more in compensation than do those who act alone when they’ve been hurt. When they stem from an act of negligence, accidental injuries don’t have to haunt you.
If you have been injured and believe blame can be justifiably assigned, don’t wait for the situation to get worse—call the personal injury attorneys Christensen & Hymas for a free consultation at 801-506-0800.