Liability When Ice and Snow Cause Accidents

Snow ice and related conditions that come with the winter, are a major cause of accidents in Massachusetts. When they happen and the accidents are caused by icy weather conditions, many people are quick to just blame nature; to throw up their hands and say “nothing anybody could do about that.”

But that’s not always true. When things like snow or ice do cause accidents, often, there is someone, somewhere that could have done something to avoid the accident or at least minimize the chances of it happening.

How Dangerous Are Icy Condition?

Ice and snow accidents are common, and dangerous. The Department of Transportation estimates that about 116,000 people every year are injured in car accidents that are caused by icy or snowy conditions on pavement. Close to 2,000 people die in these accidents yearly.

Liability for Property Owners

Whether it’s a car accident on a slippery road, or a fall on a surface that has been made slick by ice and snow, any weather related conditions that are on a property owner’s property, must be tended to as quickly as possible.

This may include the requirement of regularly inspecting outside walking areas, walkways, or parking lots, and taking steps to sweep or clean areas where snow or ice has accumulated.

If there is a parking lot where it is known that ice forms, creating what is sometimes called black ice, a property owner can often put down salt or other gritty surfaces, to give the iced over area some traction, or to prevent it from icing over in the first place.

Property owners also must consider the necessity for additional lighting in darker conditions, to allow people to see the accumulated ice or snow.

At the very least, warning signs should be placed in areas where ice is known to accumulate so that those in the area can be careful where they step or drive.

Suing the Government

While you cannot sue a public entity like the government for icy roads, there are occasions where there are areas of roads where ice or snow accumulates, and where a government agency does a substandard job of clearing the area, or at least, of trying to make the area safe for cars and pedestrians.

When a government knows that a given area is subject to a dangerous condition like ice or snow accumulation, and it does a negligent job of clearing the area or making it safe, the government agency may have some liability for injuries caused by the icy conditions.

Other Drivers

Remember that what is a safe driving speed, or what safe driving habits are, will vary, based on the presence of ice and snow. A negligent driver who says he “did nothing wrong,” may in fact have been negligent in causing your accident, if his driving habits were not appropriate for the weather conditions outside.

Injured on or because of icy conditions?  Call the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today at 617-275-4200 for help.

Sources:

ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/weather_events/snow_ice.htm#:~:text=Over%201%2C300%20people%20are%20killed,crashes%20during%20snowfall%20or%20sleet.

icyroadsafety.com/fatalitystats.shtml