Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents on Snow and Ice

In Massachusetts, winter can mean bitterly cold temperatures and ice and snow accumulations. Whenever ice and snow accumulate on the ground, you have an increased risk of being injured from slipping and falling on the slick surfaces. If you have been injured while walking on snow or ice, scroll down to learn more about liability in slip and fall accidents.

Who Is Responsible for Slip and Fall Accidents on Snow or Ice?

During the winter months, many slip and fall accidents happen on sidewalks in commercial areas or parking lots. However, they can also happen on residential property. Property owners must exercise reasonable care when maintaining their property to ensure that areas in which lawful visitors might be located are kept in safe conditions. The duty of property owners includes the duty to regularly inspect their property and to remove or remediate any ice or snow within a reasonable amount of time. Property owners owe this duty to customers, guests, and people who are present on their property for business purposes. If a property owner fails to meet this duty, the failure can amount to negligence.

Businesses often hire companies for snow and ice removal to keep their sidewalks and parking lots clear. However, regardless of whether it is a company the business has hired or the owner of the business performing snow and ice removal, there is a duty to maintain the property in a way that prevents foreseeable injuries from slipping and falling.

Like property owners, members of the public must also exercise reasonable care when they are walking in an area that they know is icy or snowy. If you fail to act with reasonable caution, your potential recovery might be reduced or eliminated based on your comparative negligence. Under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 231, § 85, you will not be able to recover damages if you contributed 51 percent or more fault to the cause of your accident. Some examples of conduct that could reduce or eliminate your ability to recover damages following a slip and fall accident on snow or ice include running, jumping, horsing around, and other similar actions.

Reasonableness

One factor in determining liability in slip and fall accidents is when it is reasonable to expect that a property owner would clear accumulated ice and snow from the sidewalks and/or parking lot. Like some other states, Massachusetts used to follow a “natural accumulation” rule. Under this rule, a property owner would be absolved of liability from natural accumulations of snow and ice when the property owner did not alter or interfere with the accumulated snow or ice. For example, a property owner who took no steps to clear snow or ice would generally not be liable unless an abnormal danger existed.

However, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts abolished the natural accumulations rule in 2010 in its decision in Papadopoulos v. Target Corporation, 457 Mass. 368 (2010). The court found that when a property owner knew or should have known that a dangerous condition existed but failed to take steps to make the property reasonably safe for lawfully present visitors, the property owner could be liable for slips and falls.

The court removed the distinction that had previously existed between natural and unnatural accumulations of snow or ice. The court noted that other naturally occurring hazards are not granted exemptions to the duty of care expected of property owners, including fallen tree limbs. The court found that it was important to make the state’s negligence law more consistent so that property owners would be put on notice about what is expected of them. Because of the Papadopoulos case, property owners in Massachusetts should take care to clear ice and snow from their parking lots and sidewalks regardless of the source of the accumulation.

Talk to Ellis & Associates

If you have suffered serious injuries after slipping and falling on an icy or snowy sidewalk or parking lot, you should schedule a free consultation with the personal injury lawyers at Ellis & Associates. We can review what happened in your case and give you an honest assessment of your potential legal claim. Call us today for a free case evaluation at 800-MR-ELLIS.