Michigan Slip and Fall Lawyers

In general terms, a Michigan slip and fall accident refers to situations where a person is injured by slipping, tripping, or otherwise falling due to a dangerous condition on the premises. These incidents can happen inside or outside of a building and be caused by hazards like wet floors, crumbling stairs, potholes, broken up concrete, a broken railing, and other general defects. A slip and fall case is also known as a premises liability case.

Michigan premises owners, including homeowners and building owners, have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition and to protect against unreasonable harm caused by a dangerous condition on the land.

When a person gets injured because of the unreasonable dangerous condition, and the landowner knew or should have known about the defect, then a Michigan slip and fall accident lawyer can help pursue your case. You are entitled to money for your pain and suffering, emotional distress, anxiety and scarring. In addition, the property owner must pay for past lost wages, future lost income, past medical expenses, future medical bills and other economic damages. 

If you are injured after slipping or tripping and falling in Michigan, there are several steps to take if you believe that your fall was the result of someone’s negligence.

Seek Medical Attention: You should first seek medical attention for injuries. Prompt medical care is important to make sure your injuries are treated and do not get worse. Make sure you tell any medical professionals about the conditions that caused your fall, as this information might be included in your medical records and provide important evidence.

Even if your injuries appear minor, it is important to go to an area hospital or urgent care. A medical examination can uncover internal injuries that you might not be immediately aware of and can result in catastrophic injury if ignored and not treated.

Gather Information: It is important to record and retain as much information as possible as to what caused your fall. Take clear photos of the area and surroundings where your fall occurred. Further, note the conditions of the area in which your fall occurred. For example, if there was poor lighting, a spill, or another hazard that caused your fall, record those details. If you are too hurt, ask a witness or person accompanying you to take photos.

Take note of exactly what you were doing when a slip and fall occurred. Were you holding anything in your hands, or were you otherwise distracted in any way? Be truthful, as eyewitnesses and security footage could detail exactly what happened when you fell.

Such photographs and recorded evidence are important, as the accident scene and hazard that caused your fall might be quickly cleaned up or removed after your fall occurred. If this occurs, a property manager might later deny that a dangerous condition ever existed.

Was There a Witness? If there were any witnesses, ask for their contact information. If a case goes to court, eyewitnesses can provide crucial information for your case.

Notify Building Owner or Premises Manager: You should also notify a building owner or manager in charge of the premises that your fall occurred and explain that you were injured. However, do not provide a written statement to the building owner or manager. Also, refrain from talking to an insurance representative of the building owner or premises manager without first contacting a Michigan slip and fall attorney.

Contact a Michigan Slip and Fall Lawyer: Hiring a Michigan slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible after your fall occurs is a wise decision. An attorney can help gather even more evidence and can hire investigators to interview witnesses and find other evidence that can support your case.

Michigan slip and fall attorneys can also work to recover or preserve any video surveillance of the incident. Many businesses and other properties have video cameras on their premises. Recorded material can be deleted after a short period of time, so it is important to obtain a copy of the video before it is erased, as recordings can be the best evidence to prove liability during a slip and fall case.

It’s important to contact a Michigan attorney before giving any statements to any insurance company representatives or investigators working for the property owner. Speaking to an experienced trip and fall lawyer before signing any settlement papers or releases is also important. An attorney can review these forms first and explain the details to you.

Under Michigan law, the owner of a property has a legal duty to make the premises reasonably safe for guests and business invitees. A business or property owner can be held liable for damages if someone is injured as the result of an unreasonably dangerous condition on the premises.

Slip and fall accidents can occur at someone’s home or property or at a place of business or other establishment. But no matter where the slip and fall incident occurred, you will need to establish a party’s negligence in order to bring a case for compensation, such as pain and suffering and the payment of medical bills. The owner of the property is typically the party accused of negligence in a Michigan slip and fall claim.

In Michigan, the slip and fall victim must prove several elements to win a slip and fall lawsuit. A case must prove that a defective or dangerous condition existed on the property or business location, and it must be proven that the condition caused both the fall and the injuries that the victim experienced.

With respect to Michigan slip and fall incidents and Michigan trip and fall incidents, there are a number of defenses available to building and apartment owners. One of the most popular and dangerous defenses used by building owners is the open and obvious doctrine.

A premises owner might try to bring up various defenses in order to blame you for your injury.

Comparative Fault Defense:

Michigan is a “comparative negligence” state, which means that your potential compensation can be reduced by the percentage by which you are deemed to be at fault for the accident that occurred. 

Under Michigan law, specifically, MCL 600.2959, if you are more than 50% at fault for causing the fall, you cannot obtain pain and suffering compensation and the amount of economic damages you receive is reduced by your percentage of fault.

For example, if a jury found a plaintiff 75% at fault for slipping on black ice in a driveway, then that plaintiff would be unable to collect any compensation for their pain and suffering or emotional distress, no matter the injuries.

Comparative negligence can come up in a number of ways. If a person is distracted while walking and slips on a puddle of water in a grocery store, that person can be deemed partially at fault for their own fall.

Another example involves a person ignoring a “wet floor” sign or some other type of warning that a dangerous condition may exist.

The Open And Obvious Defense:

The open and obvious defense was changed drastically by the Michigan Supreme Court ruling in in Kandil-Elsayed v F & E Oil, Inc, (2023) and Pinsky v Kroger Co of Mich., (Docket Nos. 162907 and 163430). Under the new standard, the open and obvious nature of a condition, such as ice and snow, goes to the comparative negligence of the injured person and the breach of the duty of care of the property owner.

Prior to this ruling, if a danger was considered open and obvious the property owner owned no duty to the public except in very rare situations. This made if virtually impossible to hold property owners accountable for dangerous conditions on their land.

But the law has since changed. If a property owner allows snow and ice to exist on his property and does nothing to remove the danger – such as salting or plowing – the property owner can be held accountable for allowing an unreasonably dangerous condition to exist.  

Instead, the open and obvious nature of the condition goes to whether the plaintiff was more than 50% at-fault for causing his or her own injury.  

Trespassing:

Trespassing is when a person enters upon another’s land without the landowner’s consent. As you can imagine, the landowner owes no duty to a trespasser except to refrain from injuring him by “wilful and wanton” misconduct. There are certain exceptions to this for children.

It’s important to also understand the common types of injuries that can result from slip and fall cases in Michigan. Falls can cause serious injuries that can create permanent and severe damage. Quality of life and well-being can be affected by slip and fall accidents. The elderly are especially at risk for injury due to poor balance.

Common slip and fall injuries include:

• Broken bones and fractures in the wrist, arms, hand and elbow;
• Broken bones in the legs, ankles, or feet;
• Low back pain and lumbar disc herniation;
• Neck pain and cervical disc herniation;
• Torn ACLs, MCLs, meniscus and other ligament and tendon injury;
• Shoulder injuries and rotator cuff tears
• Head trauma including traumatic brain injury.

A slip and fall injury in Michigan can happen at almost any type of location, but the most common places outside the home for a fall injury include:

• Stores, shopping plazas, and malls
• Hospitals, medical buildings, nursing and senior homes
• Homes and residences of family and friends
• Apartment complexes and condominium grounds
• Restaurants, cafeterias, and eateries
• Motels and hotels
• Movie theaters, concert venues, and stadiums
• Health clubs, recreational centers, and gyms
• Schools and colleges and their campuses, including gyms and auditoriums
• Airports, train stations, and bus stations
• Workplace settings such as factories, offices, and manufacturing facilities

Under Michigan law, the owner of a property has a legal duty to make the premises reasonably safe for guests and business invitees. A business or property owner can be held liable for damages if someone is injured as the result of an unreasonably dangerous condition on the premises.

Slip and fall accidents can occur at someone’s home or property or at a place of business or other establishment. But no matter where the slip and fall incident occurred, you will need to establish a party’s negligence in order to bring a case for compensation, such as pain and suffering and the payment of medical bills. The owner of the property is typically the party accused of negligence in a Michigan slip and fall claim.

In Michigan, the slip and fall victim must prove several elements to win a slip and fall lawsuit. A case must prove that a defective or dangerous condition existed on the property or business location, and it must be proven that the condition caused both the fall and the injuries that the victim experienced.

In order to prove and support a successful slip and fall case, there are several components that a slip and fall victim in Michigan must show:

• The property contained an unreasonably dangerous condition.
• The property owner knew or should have known dangerous the condition existed before the fall occurred.
• The slip and fall victim must have lawfully been on the property as either a social guest or business invitee when the accident occurred.
• The property owner was negligent in inspecting and maintaining the property or failed to repair the dangerous condition that caused the fall.
• The person suffered an injury as a direct result of the property’s dangerous condition.

There are several important and distinct elements to a slip and fall case. Each element must be considered and demonstrated in order for a slip and fall case to advance and for compensation to be received.

Negligence

An injured person must also prove negligence, or fault. In a premises liability case, the plaintiff must show the property owner owed a duty to the public and the owner or person in control of the property breached that duty by allowing an unreasonably dangerous condition to exist on the land. Without proving negligence, there is no case.

Proving negligence in a slip and fall case under Michigan law requires a certain amount of evidence. The law requires that the owner of the property where the fall occurred actually knew, or reasonably should have known, about the dangerous condition. Further, the property owner must have had the ability and opportunity to fix the problem or warn of its existence. Finally, the property owner negligently failed to do so.

This concept is known as “notice” or “constructive notice.” Even with notice, however, a property owner is not required to fix a hazard immediately. Instead, the law allows for a reasonable amount of time to correct a dangerous condition.

Causation or “Proximate Cause”

The victim of a slip and fall case in Michigan must also prove that a dangerous condition on the property directly caused the fall and the resulting injury. This legal requirement is known as “causation” or “proximate cause.” It can be difficult to prove how long a hazardous condition existed on a property in some cases, in which case, a slip and fall attorney in Michigan can provide valuable assistance.

For this reason, a Michigan slip and fall attorney and legal team often investigate the accident site and seeks to obtain witness testimony, medical records, and other valuable evidence that demonstrates a direct connection between the negligent action or omission and the victim’s accident.

Injury

For a Michigan slip and fall or trip and fall claim to succeed, it is necessary to demonstrate damages. The accident victim must have evidence of a real injury, and the injury is usually confirmed by a physician.