‘Tis the Season for Slipping, Falling, and Getting Injured

Temperatures drop in the Fall and Winter, so what was just water earlier in the year could be ice and snow. Even if you’re careful where and how you walk outside, accidents can happen, and they may lead to severe injuries. The fact you slipped on ice and snow that you saw won’t end your claim, but it may reduce how much compensation you’ll receive.

Property owners owe visitors like you a duty of reasonable care, given the circumstances. When one doesn’t live up to that obligation, they may have committed negligence and be obligated to pay you compensation for your injuries and losses you sustained as a result.

What is Negligence?

Negligence is a legal theory that’s used in almost all personal injury lawsuits. The rest can involve injuries caused by intentional acts or product liability cases where neither negligence nor intent needs to be shown.

You, the plaintiff, the party filing the lawsuit, must prove negligence to establish by a preponderance of the evidence (it’s more likely than not) that the defendant (the party sued) committed negligence that caused your injury.

You’ll need to show:

There was a relationship between you and the defendant (you were a customer in their store).
They owed you a legal duty or obligation to act or not act given the situation
The defendant failed that obligation or breached that duty
That’s the factual and legal (or proximate) accident cause
The accident caused you harm
Under state law, the defendant must compensate you for your damages (which measure your harm in dollars)

Depending on the evidence, parts of your case may be more or less difficult to prove.

What is Comparative Negligence?

In Kentucky, you can negligently contribute to causing your accident and still collect compensation. Your jury would determine how much damages you should collect and then deduct your share of the blame. This is known as comparative negligence.

This has been the law in Kentucky since 1984. Before then, any negligence by a plaintiff that partially caused the accident would result in their case being dismissed. This is contributory negligence and applies to Alabama, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina cases.

Snow, Ice, and Slipping and Falling

Property owners should promptly remove snow and ice from their property to prevent injury to visitors or guests. If they don’t, an accident happens, and you’re injured, several issues could come up, including the following:

How much snow or ice accumulated at the time of the accident?
Did the property owner know about it?
If not, should they have known about it?
Was it common in the past for snow or ice to be present where the accident happened?
If steps were taken to clear the area, when did they happen, and how effective were they?
Did you see the snow and ice?
If not, why not?
If so, what precautions, if any, did you take to avoid falling?

Thanks to a 1968 state supreme court decision, if someone stepped into a “natural accumulation” of water, ice, or snow, slipped, fell, and were injured, they wouldn’t have a case. Kentucky law was that pedestrians were to blame for not seeing this “open and obvious” problem. That’s no longer the law.

Since comparative negligence applies, you still could have a case if you step into an “open and obvious” “natural accumulation” of water, snow, or ice, fall, and injure yourself. If the defendant is found at least partially liable, your share of the blame will be deducted from the recovery you seek.

Is the Property Owner Responsible for Your Fall?

A property owner could be found negligent in causing your accident in the following situations:

They knew of the problem but did little or nothing about it
It was a chronic, ongoing problem (like poor drainage in the area) that was never addressed
Prior, similar accidents happened in the past to others
They made an attempt at clearing the area, but it was poorly done and may have made the problem worse

If the defendant proactively tried to keep the area safe and made good faith efforts to repair what caused past accidents, they may not be responsible. Property owners aren’t automatically liable for slips and falls on their property.

Speak To a Kentucky Slip-And-Fall Accident Attorney Today

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC lawyers will fight for you to obtain the compensation you deserve due to your slip, fall, and injury. If you want to schedule a free initial consultation, call our Louisville office toll-free at 855-385-9532. You may also contact us online through our website’s contact form if it’s more convenient.