Slip and fall cases and premises liability cases in general are not easy. These cases involve not only proving negligence on the part of the property owner, landlord or property manager, but also proving the injured person was not negligent in causing his or her own injuries.
In Michigan, these cases are especially difficult due to a defense landowners and their lawyers can use called the “open and obvious” defense. Only the most experienced Michigan slip and fall attorneys and trip and fall lawyers are knowledgeable enough in confronting and beating this defense.
But first, here is an explanation of what premises liability law is in Michigan as well as the various defenses property owners can use, including the open and obvious rule.
What Do You Have to Prove in a Premises Liability Case?
Under Michigan law, the injured person in a premises liability lawsuit must prove the elements of negligence. This includes showing (1) the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty, (2) the defendant breached that duty, (3) the breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury and (4) the plaintiff suffered injuries.
The plaintiff or injured person has to prove all four elements. Failing to prove even one of the elements can result in a judge dismissing the case and the injured getting nothing. A Michigan slip and fall lawyer who handles personal injury cases can assist you in proving these elements so the property owner does not get away with acting with negligence in causing injuries.
What are the Duties of the Landowner or Property Owner?
Under Michigan law, there are three categories of visitors on a property.
1. Invitee: If a person is visiting a premises for a commercial purpose, they are considered an invitee. Invitees are provided the highest protections under the law.
2. Licensee: If a person is a social guest – like a friend visiting your home – they are considered a licensee and they are provided with less protections from dangerous conditions than invitees.
3. Trespassers: They have the least legal protections under the law and can rarely bring a claim for personal injury.
In most situations, individuals are considered invitees. For example, if you shopping at grocery store you are considered an invitee. Under Michigan law, a premises owner owes a duty to an invitee to exercise reasonable care to protect the invitee from an unreasonable risk of harm caused by a dangerous condition on the land. In addition, if the landowner knows, or by exercise of reasonable care should have known of the dangerous condition, and realizes this condition involves an unreasonable risk of harm to invitees, then the landowner can be held responsible.
What is the Definition of Open and Obvious?
In Michigan, a hazard is considered open and obvious if “an average person with ordinary intelligence would have discovered it upon casual inspection.” It is an objective standard, meaning you look at it from the point of view of a regular person, not the specific person who got injured.
For example, a blind person who comes across food that spilled in a grocery aisle is treated the same under the law as a non-blind person in the same situation.
There has been a massive change in how the open and obvious defense is applied. Previously, the open and obvious rule in Michigan went straight to to the duty element. In essence, it meant the landowner or landlord did not owe a duty to visitors for open and obvious hazards. And because they don’t have a duty, there was no negligence case against a landowner for an open and obvious condition.
This all changed in 2023 when the Michigan Supreme Court issued Kandil-Elsayed vs. F & E Oil, Inc. In that case, the Supreme Court held the open and obvious nature of a defect goes to a plaintiff’s comparative negligence, rather than the premises owner’s duty. This means it is much easier to get a slip and fall to a jury rather than a judge dismissing the case.
Although the open and obvious rule was supposed to only require “casual inspection” by the injured person, Michigan courts had greatly expanded this rule. Instead, if a person should have been able to see the hazardous condition, many judges would deem the hazard open and obvious and dismiss the case. That stringent analysis no longer applies, making it much easier for injured plaintiffs to seek their day in court for a property owner’s negligence.
Michigan Slip and Fall Lawyers Helping Clients Get Large Settlements
The Michigan slip and fall attorneys at the Lee Steinberg Law Firm are experts in slip and fall and trip and fall cases. While other law firms refuse to litigate these cases, we proudly represent our clients when a property owner or landlord was negligent in causing their injuries. And we have had decades of success. For example, we recently helped a client obtain a settlement for over $400,000 after a slip and fall.
Call the Lee Steinberg Law Firm at 1-800-LEE-FREE (1-800-533-3733) for a free consultation or completed a contact form. We can answer your questions and let you know if you have a case. And we never change a thing until we win your case. Call us free today.
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