When you visit a store, restaurant, park, or other public place in Michigan, you have a reasonable expectation that walkways, staircases, and other surfaces are safe to set foot on. You never think you will end up with life-altering injuries, but these accidents send 8 million people in the United States to emergency rooms each year.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a slip and fall accident in Michigan, contact the Michigan slip and fall lawyers at Christensen Law today to start pursuing compensation for your injuries and damages. Schedule a free initial case review to talk with one of our skilled slip and fall lawyers about your rights.
You didn’t cause your accident, so you shouldn’t be left covering the bills. Our firm can help you pursue the maximum financial recovery possible for your case. There is no fee unless we win for you. Call us at 248-900-9000 or through our online contact form to learn how we can help you seek justice.
Can You Sue for Slip and Fall in Michigan?
Because no one expects to be injured when they are legally allowed on the premises, Michigan state law imposes a duty on property owners and managers to take reasonable steps to protect visitors from harm. When they fail in this duty and it results in injuries in a slip and fall accident, property owners and operators can be sued.
By contacting a Michigan personal injury lawyer to pursue a slip and fall claim, you can demand that the at-fault party pays for your treatment, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses. However, many property and business owners dispute that they caused the injuries and damages you’ve suffered.
Your compensation after a slip and fall accident may depend on having knowledgeable, skilled legal representation on your side. David Christensen is prepared to fight for the settlement you deserve. You can sue if you were injured in a slip and fall in Michigan, but filing a claim is just the beginning when it comes to seeking justice. We will fight for you from start to finish.
Michigan Property Owners Must Keep Their Premises Safe to Prevent Slip and Fall Accidents
Keeping your premises safe for customers and other visitors isn’t an option for Michigan property owners – it’s the law. Michigan property owners are legally required to keep their premises safe to prevent slip and fall accidents for several important reasons:
- Public safety: The primary goal is to protect the general public from unnecessary harm and injuries.
- Legal duty of care: Property owners have a legal obligation to maintain a reasonably safe environment for visitors.
- Prevention of accidents: Regular maintenance and hazard removal can prevent many common accidents, including slip and falls.
- Liability management: By keeping premises safe, owners reduce their risk of lawsuits and financial liability.
- Community well-being: Safe properties contribute to the overall health and safety of the community.
- Ethical responsibility: There’s a moral obligation to ensure the safety of others when inviting them onto one’s property.
- Compliance with building codes: Safety requirements often align with local and state building regulations.
- Protection of vulnerable populations: Safety measures particularly benefit children, elderly, and disabled individuals.
- Emergency preparedness: Well-maintained properties are better equipped to handle emergencies.
- Legal consistency: These premises liability laws create a standard of care that applies uniformly across different types of properties.
By requiring property owners to maintain safe premises, Michigan law aims to create a safer environment for all, reduce accidents, and establish clear responsibilities for property owners. However, when property owners fail in this duty, anyone who is injured as a result has the right to seek compensation through a civil claim.
Duties Owed to Visitors of Properties in Michigan
The facts that you need to prove in a slip and fall case depend on the circumstances of your fall. The duties that a property or business owner owes to a visitor to that property depend on the visitor’s status. A visitor can fall into one of three categories:
Invitee
An invitee is someone with permission to be on the property who comes onto the property for the owner’s benefit. Customers are a common type of invitee. Property and business owners owe invitees a duty to take reasonable steps to inspect the property, warn of dangerous or hazardous conditions, and remedy or remove such hazards.
Licensee
A licensee is someone with permission to be on the property who comes onto the premises for the licensee’s own benefit. Examples of licensees include social guests, delivery drivers, or door-to-door salespeople. A property or business owner owes a licensee a duty to warn them of dangerous or hazardous conditions of the property that would not be obvious to the licensee.
Trespasser
A trespasser is someone without permission to be on the property. A property or business owner only owes trespassers a duty to refrain from willfully causing injury to the trespasser. They can’t, for example, set traps for trespassers. Property owners do owe a duty of care to minor trespassers in certain circumstances.
Once your Michigan slip and fall attorney has determined which category of visitor you fall into, we can begin crafting a case based on strong evidence that will prove liability in your claim.
What Do You Have to Prove in a Michigan Slip and Fall Case
In order for an invitee to prove a slip and fall case, you will likely need to show that an unreasonably dangerous condition that the property or business owner should have known about caused your slip and fall on the property. For example, a store owner who knew about a patch of ice or puddle of oil on their premises and failed to clean it up could be held liable for a slip and fall injury that results.
In some cases, your Michigan premises liability lawyer may argue that the property manager failed to exercise reasonable diligence that would have uncovered the condition. A negligent property manager could have had a reasonable opportunity to remedy or repair the condition or warn you of its existence but failed to do so. For example, if a landlord never or very rarely inspected the condition of communal stairs in an apartment complex, they may be found liable for an injury caused by a faulty railing.
You must also establish that you suffered compensable damages, like medical expenses to treat your injuries, lost wages from the time you missed from work while recovering from injuries, or pain and suffering caused by injuries.
Some property or business owners may argue that the hazard that caused your fall was “open and obvious” to you. They may blame you for your injury by saying that you chose to walk across the hazard and failed to exercise reasonable care in doing so.
If the owner raises an “open and obvious” defense, your attorney may need to prove that the hazard that caused your fall wasn’t open and obvious, or that you had no choice but to walk across the hazard. For example, the patch of ice that you slipped on was directly in front of a store entrance. At Christensen Law, we’ll prepare you for these counterarguments to protect your right to compensation.
