Your view of snowy weather is probably a reflection of your age, your interest in winter sports, and whether you are a property owner. If you are a kid then snow means nothing but fun, with days off of school spent sledding and hurling snowballs followed by hot chocolate in a warm kitchen. If you’re an avid skier, fresh snow is what you hope for and dream of during the off-season and revel in while you’re on the slopes. But if you’re a property owner then snow means the responsibility to get out there and shovel your walkways, because failure to do so can lead to a neighbor slipping and falling, and a potential personal injury lawsuit.

Though not every injury incurred on an unshoveled walkway is grounds for a personal injury lawsuit, many of them are. People can suffer major injuries when they fall, and when that happens the question of liability is quickly raised. In Pennsylvania, property owners are required to make sure that their property is not unreasonably obstructed and that it does not “constitute a danger to pedestrians traveling thereon,” but the law also indicates that property owners can’t be found liable unless they had “notice, either actual or constructive, of the existence of such condition.” In other words, they need to have known that the icy condition occurred.

If you’ve been injured following a slip and fall on an unshoveled walkway, driveway, or parking lot, in order to successfully win compensation from the premises owner you will need to prove that the conditions on their property were dangerous as well as that the property owner knew or should have known that it was dangerous. There are also other factors to be considered, including how long the storm lasted and whether the property owner had sufficient opportunity to clear the icy conditions before the injury occurred, what type of property the injury occurred on, whether warning of the dangerous conditions was provided, and whether the injured person took reasonable steps to protect themselves.

Every situation involving unshoveled shown is different, and knowing whether you have good cause to file a personal injury lawsuit requires both experience and knowledge of the law. For an assessment of your particular situation, contact our experienced personal injury attorneys today to set up a free consultation.