With the 2019 Farmers’ Almanac warning that our part of the country will face a “biting cold, snowy” winter this year, undoubtedly there will be tragic deaths due to bodily injuries suffered in accidents involving either a slip and fall or trip and fall.
These fatalities may happen at home, at school, or while the victim is out running errands or meeting up with friends at a local shopping mall or restaurant.
Some of these deadly falls will happen at work: according to yesterday’s news release, fatal falls killing American workers hit the “highest level in the 26-year history of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) [emphasis added].”
Ice, Snow, and Premises Liability Law
Both Indiana and Illinois have premises liability laws that protect victims of serious fall injuries after they have been injured by the negligent acts of others involving winter weather conditions like ice and snow.
State laws try and protect victims from serious and deadly falls by placing a special duty of care upon business operations, employers, landlords, condo boards, homeowners, etc., to keep walkways safe from winter hazards, like slippery surfaces caused by snow and ice.
Businesses, employers, and property owners all have a duty to protect those who may be walking on their premises from the foreseeable hazards created from snow and ice accumulations on the areas within their possession, custody, and control.
This duty includes doing things like:
- Inspecting the area for possible dangers caused by winter weather (ice, snow);
- Taking reasonable steps to curtail or minimize those dangers;
- Warning those who may walk or otherwise access these areas of the possible risks of falls due to ice and snow; and
- Preventing access to the area, or otherwise providing safeguards (like stopping work, re-routing traffic, etc.) when there is a hazardous condition caused by snow or ice.
Multiple Defendants May Share Responsibility for Fatal Winter Slip and Fall Accidents
After someone has been seriously injured or killed from injuries suffered in a fall caused by losing their footing on snow or ice, some family members and friends may assume that the victim assumed the risk of getting hurt, simply by venturing forth into the elements. This is wrong.
Investigation of the Winter Slip and Fall Accident
The incident must be investigated by those with an understanding of premises liability laws to determine if there was a (1) duty of care involved to keep the area safe from winter hazards; (2) if this duty of care was breached; and (3) if the breach of duty was the proximate cause of the (4) harm suffered by the accident victim.
Here, many things may be factors in determining premises liability for a serious or deadly winter slip and fall accident and the determination that the accident was caused by snow or ice conditions on the footpath of the victim, including:
- incident reports filed by the property owner or business;
- police reports;
- records of past accidents on the site;
- weather data regarding how long the accumulation had been growing;
- meteorological records documenting the temperature at the time of the accident;
- photos or videos showing any absence of clear pathways;
- images and/or testimony there were signs of melting snow or thawing ice at the time of the accident; and
- any arrangements made for clearing the snow or ice from the accident site (and if so, when they were scheduled to do so).
Investigation of Responsible Parties
After the investigation, it may be revealed that several parties have legal liability for what has happened. For instance, under Indiana premises liability law, when an employee suffers a serious injury due to a slip and fall involving snow conditions, there must be consideration of the corporate structure of the employer. It must be determined whether all the parties who had a duty of care are considered to be “joint employers” (e.g., the employing company and its subsidiary responsible for snow and ice removal) or whether some may be independent from the employer-company and therefore independently liable for the victim’s harm.
For details, read the discussion of Hall v. Dallman Contractors, LLC, 51 N.E.3d 261 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) in the recent law review article published in by the Indiana Law Review: Kruse, Paul S., et al. “Recent Developments in Indiana Tort Law.” Ind. L. Rev. 50 (2016): 1457.
For more on liability for serious or fatal slip and fall accidents, see:
- Winter Weather Increases Danger of Workplace Accidents
- Winter School Playground Accidents: Danger of Falls and Serious Harm to Children
- Slip and Fall Accidents in the Workplace: Severe Injury or Death on the Job
- Fell Down, Seriously Hurt: Slip and Fall Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.
During the upcoming winter months, it is important that all of us keep alert to the dangers of a severe or deadly fall accident due to winter conditions involving ice or snow. We need to understand and warn our loved ones that we must be aware of the risks of being fatally injured in a winter slip and fall accident, minimizing them with proper footwear, etc.
We also need to know that there are legal avenues for justice in Indiana and Illinois for those who are victims of negligence involving winter weather accidents. Please let’s be careful out there!
