Occupiers of licensed premises with stairs must take proactive steps to address the foreseeable risk of liquid being spilt on stairs, including considering the slip-resistance of stair surfaces when wet. An architect who designs stairs for licensed premises must consider the safety of materials in the context of their likely use, including the possibility of liquid contamination, and must test materials for slip resistance. The defence under s 5O CLA requires the defendant to adduce evidence of widely accepted peer professional opinion supporting the conduct in question. For causation in omission cases, it is sufficient to prove that the precaution would have minimised the risk of injury, not that it would have prevented it.
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