A no-liability disclaimer is a common sight in public places but it won’t stop someone who gets hurt there from going to court, and even winning. This may be why the University of Pretoria reached a settlement with a consultant who broke his leg falling down the stairs, despite its claims that he fell because he was talking on his cellphone.“Disclaimers are becoming less and less effective from a legal defence perspective and are often seen as being contrary to public policy... Courts are becoming less reluctant to award damages in respect of these matters,” personal injury lawyer Deon Francis said.Corporate dynamics consultant John Charter slipped and fell at the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) campus in Illovo, Johannesburg, in March 2012.He was at GIBS for a course on corporate fund-raising and fell down the stairs “where no handles were present and where no warning signs were placed indicating that the stairs were slippery”, Charter said in court papers.Charter sued the university in the Johannesburg High Court for R288 491 for damages and medical expenses.Charter claimed he fractured his calf bone in two places and said he could not walk for six weeks, costing him work and money.He said he “suffered personal injury as a result of the negligent actions" of the university.The university denied negligence and said Charter did not pay enough attention to his surroundings because “he was walking and talking simultaneously on a cellular telephone”.Charter and the University recently settled out of court for an amount neither would disclose to [the newspaper].Dean of GIBS Professor Nick Binedell said the university settled with Charter on the instruction of the university's insurers but it did not concede liability.Charter declined to comment on the matter.Even with a warning sign on the stairs, Charter could still have successfully sued the university if he could prove that it was negligent.Natalie Graaff, lawyer and operations manager at occupational health and safety consultants Advantage A.C.T., said that in South African law, “you can't indemnify yourself from your own negligence”.She said companies often rely on the public's ignorance and can thus sometimes get away with putting up signs to discourage the public should something happen to them on the company's premises. “It will not protect the company in all cases,” said Graaff.Beauty therapist Lubov Kovtun-Caine sued Planet Fitness for R540 000 after she slipped and fell at its gym in Illovo in 2011, breaking her thigh bone.The gym said a disclaimer at the entrance meant it was not responsible for any injuries suffered inside. It also said Kovtun-Caine was not being careful and should have looked where she was going.Despite relying on the disclaimer, Planet Fitness last year reached a settlement out of court with Kovtun-Caine. - Additional reporting by Nomahlubi Jordaan..