We’ve all been there. You stop at a store on your way home to pick up a few items. Or you run to the mall on your lunch break. You expect a quick, safe trip with no surprises.

But accidents, many of them entirely preventable, can happen. When you think of a store, wet, slick floors and other hazards come to mind, but those are not the only hazards.

When you visit a business or other public venue, you expect the facilities to be safe and properly maintained. Any facility that is considered open to the public is responsible for keeping visitors reasonably safe from harm. But if you fall and sustain injuries in a public location, who is responsible?

In West Virginia, we have no shortage of narrow two-lane roads, many of which are isolated and wind around mountains and through valleys. Less traffic does not always mean faster trips. Driving on these roads presents some challenges that are much different than larger interstate highways.

Whether it’s a concert, festival, sporting event, or another type of event, a large number of people grouped together can easily become a target for criminals or be affected by natural disasters or other emergencies.