Slip and Falls

Slip and Fall on Ice on Sidewalk

The rule is when ice or snow has accumulated on a public sidewalk abutting a private property, the property owner owes no duty to passers-by either to clear the sidewalk or to scatter abrasive material thereon. A person may, however, incur liability for artificial conditions.

Persons often look to see whether grading and structures on the property, such as downspouts, are built in a usual or ordinary way or whether they are built in a way that causes accumulating and discharge runoff on a public sidewalk. If built in a usual and ordinary way then courts deem incidental drainage to be natural. Conversely, for example, if a person doesn’t properly repair a drainage system then an artificial condition exists when more water than normal accumulates. A runoff must result from human error.

Slip and Fall on Ice on Part of a Public Building

In the case of a slip and fall on a platform of a building, for example, a person would probably look to the safe place statute for relief. The safe place statute requires a building owner of a public building to keep the building maintained and in repair as to render it safe as the public building would reasonably permit. It would also make a difference how often the person came into the building over time and whether he/she was invited or not.