Does that explain why various hiking path builders also seem to favour types of marble? The path up to Castle Peak, for example, seems to be made out of some marble-type stone and it's an ice-rink when wet. Doesn't help that the path is on a slope rather than even being steps.
Choosing grippy shoes helps (although some surfaces defy any form of grip!).
I find it astonishing that people put looks ahead of function but I can see where you are coming from. I don't favour US style lawsuits as I think they push the onus too far onto the building/retailer - remember the person who sued Macca's because her coffee was too hot and she spilled it on herself? People who wander around on marble floors in high heel deserve their fate. But if you wear sensible shoes and don't run, you really should be allowed to feel safe on your feet in HK (and I don't).
I gave up trying to understand the AFCD trail builders years ago and just decided they are a bunch of clueless muppets We've seen them coat mountain biking trails in sharp green mesh which turns into a slippery massive cheese-grater when when.
The McDonalds lawsuit details makes for quite an interesting read- you should look it up if you haven't read about it already. My recollection is that the person suing was after a much smaller amount. And the court decided to award massive punitive damages to force the company to change its practices after they found out that McDonalds was aware of a long history of coffee burns.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
I reckon one reason why people in the US sue for PI more than other places is because of the cost of medical care.
I've slipped a few times in HK while it was raining as well. Pavements on walkways seem to be very smooth and slippery in many places. Now I almost tip toe in certain places if it rains.
Yeah, the McD's coffee lawsuit is usually misconstrued. The plaintiff wanted to have her medical costs covered; she didn't want to get rich, and certainly didn't want to become part of such a public circus - she wasn't looking to "get" McDonalds.
There does seem to be somethign of a cottage industry of lawsuits in the US, though. Once I got hit while riding my bike (car went through a stop sign). I was fine - not hurt, though the rear wheel never quite recovered. I was annoyed that the police weren't doing jack sh*t - I guess that Brits would say 'f*ck all' - about it, and wound up on the phone with a lawyer who started asking me about the incident. When I told him I wasn't hurt, he said to me "with all due respect, you're not a medical professional. You don't know if you were hurt or not. You coudl have injuries you don't even know about, you could have soft tissue damage..."
Anyway, I chose not to hire him. No justice...
It is true, though, in the US you just don't get the sheer slipperiness that Hong Kong has. Literally.