The New Mexico Supreme Court has held that a “Wet Floor” sign is a “safety device” under the New Mexico Workers Compensation Act, according to an article on the Albuquerque Journal website.
In the case in question, a nurse was injured in a fall on a recently mopped floor. Hospital custodians had violated the facility's policy in not placing the signs.
The court had two issues: whether a “Wet Floor” sign was a safety device under the act and whether the employer had “supplied” the device.
The court said the term ‘safety device’ must be given a broad interpretation so as to include any practical or reasonable method of lessening or preventing a specific danger to which a workman is exposed.