Slip and Falls on Black Ice

Slip and fall injuries are among the most common type of injury, making up 15 percent of workplace injuries and happening to at least an estimated million people each year. When the weather gets cold, slip and fall injuries become even more possible due to black ice – a thin sheet of transparent ice that forms over walking surfaces. Black ice injuries can be incredibly debilitating, and the skilled personal injury attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP can help you file a claim to get back on your feet.

There may be any number of ways in which you become a victim of a black ice slip and fall. Perhaps you or a loved one are elderly and are already at risk of a fall, but icy conditions made for an even more hazardous walk to the grocery store. Perhaps you were carrying something and didn’t notice a slippery patch of sidewalk, or you were running after a friend and simply lost your footing.

Regardless of how the injury occurred, there are many instances where a slip and fall injury occurring due to black ice may be grounds for a personal injury suit. Property owners have a vital responsibility to ensure that they uphold a reasonable level of safety for all potential visitors and passersby. Failing to uphold this responsibility may constitute negligence, which could mean you’re entitled to financial compensation to help pay for medical expenses or recoup money lost from being unable to work while you are recovering from your fall.

Slip and fall injuries can happen to anybody, but when they happen to you it is important to know what your legal recourse is. If there is any recourse to be found, we guarantee we can identify it. There are numerous scenarios where a slip and fall may not simply be an accident, but the result of careless negligence on the part of another individual or multiple third parties. These may include:

• A private residence on a populated suburban block fails to clean the sidewalk in front of their property after a snowstorm, or fails to salt the sidewalk after a bout of freezing rain within a reasonable amount of time. A passing pedestrian slips and falls on the ice that has formed, which may leave the property owner liable, as a sidewalk is a public part of their private personal property for which they are required to maintain.
• A private business – in this example a hardware store – fails to have their icy parking lot adequately shoveled and salted/sanded. A customer going at a reasonable rate of speed is unable to brake when they hit a patch of black ice and collide with another vehicle, causing injuries to both operators. The hardware store property owner has a responsibility to keep their premise safe, and may be liable for those injuries.
• An elderly apartment complex property owner fails to keep the walkway in the public area of the complex free and clear of ice, leading an elderly person to slip and fall and fracture multiple bones. The property owner could be liable for the failure to maintain a safe residence.

No matter how you slipped and fell, if black ice was involved there is a chance that somebody was not satisfying their responsibilities to maintain a safe premise. All landlords and property owners know the responsibility they have to ensure people do that harm themselves while on their property, so failing to do so is a failure that must be accounted for.

The personal injury attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP have over 50 years of experience helping slip and fall clients, no matter what the season, and we can help you too. Contact us online or call for a free consultation to go over the details of your case today at 617-492-3000 or toll-free at 800-481-6199. We are available 24/7.