Museum Fails To Ensure Patron Safety During Renovation

Case Overview

This case involves a 4-year-old child who suffered injuries after falling through a curtain in an art museum. The curtain was put up while the museum was undergoing renovation in one of its wings for a seasonal exhibit. Although there was a sign outside the curtain indicating construction and asking patrons not to enter, there was no security guard on or near the concourse to prevent entry. The 4-year-old child wandered into the exhibition area and knocked over a toolbox suffering lacerations to his arms and legs. It was alleged that the curtain was not properly sectioned off to ensure the safety of all patrons.

Questions to the Occupational Health and Safety expert and their responses

Do you have experience designing museums and implementing plans to section off areas that will be under construction and not open to the public?

My museum experience is rather substantial, in addition to performing art centers, arenas/stadiums/ballparks, hospitals, schools, office facilities, hotels/condos, warehouses, historic renovations/restorations, etc.

If a curtain is being used to section off an area of the museum, what steps need to be taken to ensure patrons do not enter the area?

Egress from occupied buildings must be maintained, construction dust and debris must be contained, and the overall level of safety of the building must not be sacrificed. It's more of a common sense issue, or a standard of ordinary care concern, that is negotiated on a case by case basis rather than a set of written rules and regulations that are applicable to all buildings.

Are you familiar with the relevant safety codes that museums are required to adhere to?

I have specialized in code consulting for 30+ years. My career has involved practicing as an architect, serving as a municipal building official, code analyst, and secretary to the board of building appeals, and for the past 31 years as a code consultant on a variety of complex projects. As an architect, a building official, and a code consultant, I've worked primarily with fire officials in negotiating barriers between construction zones and occupied areas in buildings.

About the expert

This highly qualified expert has 35 years of experience in creatively applying code requirements, developing and writing building code provisions and accessibility standards (at national, state and local levels), and creatively providing equivalent alternatives to strict code interpretations before numerous boards of appeal. As a former building official for Cincinnati and secretary to their Board of Building Appeals, and an active participant in numerous national codes and standards organizations, this expert keeps involved in the regulatory development of building codes and standards. These experiences allow him to apply the latest state-of-the-art code concepts to not only new construction, but to alterations in existing buildings and restoration of historic buildings. In the early 1980s, he developed the numerical evaluation system and co-authored a new rehab code chapter that has evolved into the current CH 34 ?Existing Buildings? of the International Building Code.

E-015252

Specialties:

Occupational Health and Safety

Victoria Negron has extensive experience in journalism and thought leadership in the legal space, with a background crafting content, whitepapers, webinars, and current event articles pertaining to the role of expert witnesses in complex litigation matters. She is a skilled professional specializing in B2B product marketing and content marketing. Currently, she serves as an Enterprise Product Marketing Manager at Postman, and previously held the position of Technical Product Marketing Manager at Palantir Technologies, where she developed her skills in launch strategies, go-to-market strategy, and competitive analysis.

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