Liability Under United States Common Law
By the calculus of negligence, placing these signs makes sense even if there is a very small chance of anyone slipping. One factor in determining liability is the awareness of the landowner of the spill. Because individuals are generally expected to be less aware than businesses are of incidents such as spills, wet-floor signs are not usually found on personal property such as family dwellings. Nevertheless, a house guest can seek injury compensation, alleging liability for the tort of negligence. The highest standard of liability exists in the workplace, where workers' compensation may apply to any injury regardless of fault. The lowest standard exists for uninvited trespassers; some jurisdictions do recognize a duty to warn anticipated or unanticipated trespassers. A "wet floor" sign placed at the entrance to a store, combined with periodic mopping of the entrance area during rainy periods to prevent an unreasonable accumulation of rain water, constitutes reasonable and ordinary care on the proprietor's part.
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