As I write this blog the official first day of winter is only one day away and I am celebrating its arrival with having just won a slip and fall case stemming from the winter of 2009.  With winter comes the promise that undoubtedly there will be snow and ice and falls.  That’s right, fortunately or unfortunately for me, every winter numerous people fall on the snow and ice and then sue a business or someone else for their fall.  Luckily, slip and falls on natural accumulations of snow and ice are perhaps one of the most easily won premises liability cases.  While I would like to claim its due to the brilliance of defense attorneys (ok, well perhaps in my case), it has more to do with the Ohio Courts consistently recognizing that you cannot impose liability on others to protect an individual from what are natural occurrences in Ohio …. snow and ice.  

The general rule in Ohio is that a homeowner or business is not responsible for a patron/visitor’s fall on a natural accumulation of snow or ice.  Nor are they responsible for removing the snow thereby creating water left behind that turns to ice (i.e. courts do not want to punish people for making an effort to shovel).  Nor is snow or ice unnatural because it accumulates around a man-made structure such as a handicap ramp or curb.  I think you begin to get the drift of the arguments made …. all with the underlying reasoning that it is anyone but the injured person’s fault that they fell.  Keeping this in mind, over the years I have put together an informal list of points that, while they may seem obvious, apparently escape quite a few people until pointed out during a lawsuit. 

1. If it’s cold outside, what looks like a wet spot may be ice.
2. If there’s snow or ice outside, it is cold.
3. If there is snow or ice on the ground, it may be slippery.
4. If it feels slippery when you put your foot on it, it’s probably slippery – don’t continue to walk over it.
5. If you can walk around the snow and ice do it …. it really won’t take you that much longer to get into the dollar store and everything will still be a dollar when you get there.
6. If you’ve just walked around ice, there is a strong possibility that the next wet spot you’re approaching is ice.
7. Snow is the brother to ice.  When you can see snow, you shouldn’t be surprised that it is icy outside.
8. Your rubber soled shoes are not magic …. you can still slip on ice and snow while wearing them.
9. Much like rubber soled shoes, salt is not magic …. you can still slip when you see salt in the area.
10. Just because someone else didn’t slip on the ice doesn’t mean you won’t.

As obvious as these points may seem, if implemented I think about ninety percent of my snow and ice slip and fall cases would have been avoided.  Hopefully by letting you in on these “trade secrets” you can enjoy safe and happy holidays and a wonderful new year!