In some communities, every homeowner is expected to arrange for removal of any snow or ice on the sidewalk in front of the home. On the other hand, there are some communities in which homeowners do not always get charged with that responsibility. Yet even in such places, certain homeowners can be held liable, if some person were to slip and fall on the section of sidewalk in front of their piece of property.
Factors that work to make a homeowner liable for a slip and fall injury
It may be known to those in the neighborhood that at some time in the past the same homeowner has sought to exercise some measure of control over the section of sidewalk in front of his or her residence.
The homeowner’s habits have allowed water to pool and freeze on a public walkway. For example, it could be that one of the homeowner’s vehicles gets parked on that same walkway. That would keep the sun from evaporating any water that might have formed under that vehicle, and water that might have spread out onto adjoining portions of the covered walkway. Some homeowners do not take good care of the downspout on their residence. If that then impedes the flow of water, the sidewalk could get flooded. If the flooded area freezes and someone slips on that frozen spot, the homeowner becomes liable for any injury.
Personal injury lawyers in Medicine Hat that handle personal injury cases learn about all sorts of ways by which an innocent person might get harmed accidentally. Due to the large number of such cases, the law has established rules to be followed by any accident victim that hopes to be compensated. If you have slipped and fallen on a patch of ice, you will need to come forward with certain evidence, in order to obtain any desired compensation.
Learn what the victim of a slip and fall injury has to prove
Prove that the homeowner contributed in some way to the dangerous conditions that created the dangerous patch of ice. A victim should note details on the type of shoe that he or she was wearing, at the time of the slip and fall incident.
Victim must show that he or she was injured as a result of the slip and fall incident. For that reason, the victim should see a doctor as soon as possible. If the victim can offer names and contact information for witnesses, such information can provide a lawyer with an even larger amount of proof. The injury has forced the victim to suffer some sort of loss. Physical harm to the body counts as a loss. If the victim had to miss a few days of work, the lack of expected income would count as a loss. A victim would suffer further losses if he or she had to cover the cost of things like pain medication or special equipment, such as crutches.