Ice-Snow Slip and Fall

West Coast Weather has handled several cases relating to a defendant slipping on ice in a parking lot of a private property owner. There are two parts to this and we will briefly discuss the weather patterns and have some information on the legal side.

We have worked with both the plaintiff and defendant attorneys on these slip and fall cases. For this example we will use the defendant example. For this example, the defendant’s attorney tells us that the plaintiff (Mr. Slip) slipped on some ice that was on the defendant’s (Mr. Owner’s) parking lot.

Our task is to review the weather events prior to the slip and leading up to the day of the slip. In this example Mr. Slip had the accident on Wednesday in Spokane Washington on January 5. We reviewed the hourly weather data starting on Sunday January 2 and noticed that had snowed 1 inch and there was a high of 28 degrees. Then looked at the data for Monday January 4 to determine if the snow melted or if there was more snow. It was dry and sunny for both Monday and Tuesday with a high of 33 and low of 20. Finally at the time of the slip at 8 am on Wednesday it was clear with temperature of 28.

Question was it possible there was ice on the parking lot on Wednesday January 5 at 8 am? The short answer yes but we prepared a 5 page report to explain the details and this also required six hours of detailed weather analysis. There we many things to look at on this.

The legal part is more involved and varies from state to state. In some states there is the unnatural accumulation of snow and ice rule. In order for there to be liability for a fall on ice or snow, the ice or snow that made one fall must be an unnatural accumulation of ice or snow. If it is a natural accumulation of ice or snow, there is generally no liability. The snow and ice is considered a natural accumulation if it is the result of natural weather conditions. This is just one example of this and it is important to know that we are not attorneys and this is just some general information and you should consult legal counsel to seek the proper answers. Here is one sample case.

Finally, what was the result of our case? The case was dropped.