I Fell on Ice. Can I Sue?

This spring has been particularly cold, snowy, and icy. Another wave of winter weather just went through Southeast Michigan, and with it, in all likelihood, came some slip and falls. But should you call a lawyer after you fell on ice? It depends.

Across the country, 25,000 people slip and fall every day. During winter months, many of those are because of ice and snow. If you fell on ice, you could have broken bones, soft tissue injuries, and even nerve damage. Some slip and fall cases involving head injuries can be especially severe and interfere with your ability to live your everyday life.

Is there anything you can do about it? Can you sue the property owner for failing to shovel, salt, or clear away ice and snow? Generally no.

Slip and fall cases are “premises liability” lawsuits against property owners. Under premises liability, businesses, homeowners, and landlords have a duty to protect people they invite onto their property from dangerous conditions. However, when that condition is “open and obvious” – like snow on the ground – it is up to the visitor to avoid the danger. That might mean:

• Stepping around icy patches on the pavement;
  
• Walking on the grass to avoid an icy sidewalk; or even
  
• Leaving and coming back another day.
  

But there are two kinds of cases where people injured by obvious dangers are allowed to sue to recover for their injuries.

Unreasonably Dangerous

In very extreme situations, a property owner can be sued for creating an unreasonably dangerous situation, even if it is open and obvious. There has to be a uniquely high risk of death or severe injury because of the situation. Ice and snow don't generally meet this threshold.

Effectively Unavoidable Danger

If an ice-related slip and fall lawsuit goes to court, it is most likely because the slippery surface was effectively unavoidable. For example, in a recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision, Lymon v Freedland, a home health care worker sued her patient's daughter after she fell on a particularly steep and slippery driveway.

But before you can collect for falling on ice, you also have to show that you had no choice but to face the danger. In another case, a person was not allowed to recover damages after choosing to cross ice to enter a gym where she had a membership. Patrons inside that same gym, though, may have been able to sue if they fell while trying to leave.

It can be tough to sue after you fell on ice. If you have been seriously injured, you will need an experienced personal injury attorney, like Dani K. Liblang of The Liblang Law Firm, P.C., to help you work through the law and decide if you have a claim. If this spring's snow and ice has left you injured, contact The Liblang Law Firm, P.C., to see if you have a case.