The winter months bring snow and ice to Chester County, making for beautiful landscapes but treacherous roads, sidewalks and parking lots.  Slip and fall accidents from snow and ice are common and can result in legal liability to property owners, landlords and tenants.  Here are 5 Tips to Avoid Legal Liability from Snow and Ice:1:  DEFINE WHO MUST CLEAR SNOW AND ICE:  In landlord/tenant situations, the issue of who is responsible to plow, shovel and treat snow and ice should be clearly defined in the lease.  The landlord should spell out who must clear driveways, parking lots and sidewalks.  If responsibility is placed on the tenants, the lease should provide that that tenant assumes all liability for slips and falls and the lease should require the tenant to purchase liability insurance.In situations where a business or home has frontage on a public sidewalk, the property owner should research who is legally responsible to clear the sidewalk, the property owner or the municipality.2:  PROMPTLY CLEAR SNOW AND TREAT ICE:  Although Pennsylvania has favorable laws providing some protection to property owners from liability relating to snow and ice storms, ice and snow should be cleared promptly after a storm.  Often municipalities will have Ordinances specifying how quickly shoveling must be done.  Research and follow Ordinances and do your best to clear snow and treat ice in a timely manner.  If you allow it to remain and someone falls and is injured, you may face a legal claim.3:  DON’T FORGET TO TREAT ICE PATCHES:  After the initial snow or ice clearing, it is common to have melting and refreezing, which can create dangerous ice patches.  To minimize melting and freezing issues, think about where and how you pile snow.  Be sure to establish a regular schedule to salt and sand ice patches.  If possible, have a written schedule and keep records of your work.  This information would be helpful in defending a slip and fall lawsuit.4:  PROPERLY MAINTAIN YOUR PROPERTY TO PREVENT SLIP AND FALL ACCIDENTS:Ice patches often result from defective gutters or downspouts or improperly designed or maintained parking lots, driveways or sidewalks which allow water to collect and freeze.  Be sure to conduct regular maintenance to prevent ice patches.  Also, have and maintain proper railings on stairways.5:  PROPERLY INSURE YOUR RISK:  Make sure that adequate liability insurance is purchased which will cover slip and falls on ice and snow.  Falls can result in serious injuries, like broken hips or spine damage.  Liability coverage should be high enough to cover serious injuries.Wintertime can be beautiful, but also dangerous.  Snow and ice can result in slip and fall accidents and costly lawsuits, but the risks can usually be eliminated or managed throughproper planning and insurance.

Tim is a graduate of Widener University School of Law (J.D.) and the Temple University Beasley School of Law (Master’s Degree in Trial Advocacy).  Tim focuses his practice in Personal Injury law, including car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents, slip and falls, dangerous products/products liability cases and medical malpractice.  Tim is a partner in the Chester County, PA, law firm of MacElree Harvey and has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester, PA, and Centreville, DE.  Tim is the author of numerous publications on Personal Injury law and writes a Blog providing news and information on Personal Injury law at www.macelree.com/traynelaw and is a columnist for The Kennett Paper writing a column titled “Legal Lines.”  Tim has also published two books on Personal Injury law:  “A Lawyer’s Guide to Purchasing Car Insurance” and “A Lawyer’s Guide to Personal Injury Cases.”  In 2007, Tim was named by Main Line Today as one of the area’s Top Personal Injury Litigators.  In addition, Tim is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum which recognizes the “Top Trial Lawyers in America,” with membership limited to attorneys who have won million dollar awards and settlements on behalf of their clients.

Tim can be reached by phone at 610-840-0124, by email at trayne@macelree.com or on his Blog at www.macelree.com/traynelaw.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Slip and Falls. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.