A puddle on the floor of a grocery store. An icy patch in the parking lot of a big-box retailer. A loose handrail in the stairwell of a hotel. These are just a few examples of dangerous conditions that can lead to a fall that leaves you seriously injured. Injuries from a slip-and-fall accident can heal after several weeks, or they can cause long-term disabilities that limit your ability to earn a living, take care of your children, and generally enjoy life.
It might seem only fair that a property owner would be held financially responsible when a customer or other invited guest falls and hurts themselves because the owner failed to keep the premises reasonably safe. But for years, an unusual rule used in Michigan personal injury law kept many premises liability victims from getting fair compensation. That rule, called the “open and obvious” doctrine, has gone away, though some lawmakers are working to bring it back.
Premises Liability Basics
In a standard premises liability (often called a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall) claim, the plaintiff must prove:
· The defendant property owner or manager owed the plaintiff a legal duty to keep the premises reasonably safe and free from traps
· The defendant failed to live up to this duty
· The plaintiff suffered and injury as a result
To translate that into plain language, stores, restaurants, hotels, movie theatres, and other businesses generally owe a legal duty to their customers to keep the premises safe. This typically includes keep floors, sidewalks, parking facilities, and other places within the property where customers normally walk clean, dry, and well-lit. This minimizes the risk of a serious fall.
But let’s say a grocery store allows a spilled bottle of water to remain on the floor instead of mopping it up or at least posting a caution sign. Then a customer steps in the puddle, loses their footing and falls to the floor. That customer could injure their hip, back, or head, and require expensive medical treatment. They might be forced to miss work for a long time while they recover. This is what premises liability litigation is meant for: to help slip-and-fall victims avoid having the financial burden of an accident caused by the property owner’s negligence.
Michigan’s Pro-Owner Doctrine
For a long time, Michigan law added an exception to the standard premises liability rules. Under the open and obvious doctrine, a plaintiff could not recover damages for their injuries if the property owner successfully argued that the trap that caused the fall was “obvious,” meaning that a reasonable person would have noticed it. This doctrine helped Michigan property owners avoid liability for years.
Abolishing the Doctrine
Then, in 2023, the Michigan Supreme Court abolished it. In a pair of cases that challenged the open and obvious doctrine, Kandil-Elsayed v. F & E Oil, Inc., and Pinsky v. Kroger Co. of Michigan, the court overturned a ruling it had made in 2001. It found that the doctrine conflicted with Michigan comparative negligence law for determining personal injury liability. This rule allows defendants to shift partial blame for an injury onto the plaintiff if their negligent actions contributed to their own injuries. For example, if a jury finds the defendant 90% liable and the plaintiff 10% liable, the plaintiff’s compensation award would be reduced by 10%. But the open and obvious doctrine essentially made any small negligence by the plaintiff into a complete defense that totally blocked their compensation.
The 2023 supreme court ruling reduced the doctrine from a complete defense to a factor to be considered in the defendant’s liability and the extent to which the plaintiff was also negligent. In other words, suffering a fall due to a trap that was arguably “obvious” and avoidable might reduce your compensation, but as long as you’re less than 50% at fault for your slip-and-fall injuries, you would receive something from the property owner.
Among other things, this ruling greatly increased premises liability victims’ ability to take negligent Michigan property owners to court. So it’s no surprise that business groups have pushed the Legislature to pass a package of bills that would restore the open and obvious doctrine as a complete defense to premises liability claims. For now, however, the supreme court decision stands.
Fair Compensation for Your Slip-and-Fall Injuries is Possible
If you were hurt in a premises liability accident, you may be facing huge medical bills while you’re experiencing too much pain or disability to go back to work anytime soon. To get fair compensation, your best bet is working with a personal injury lawyer who has handled many cases similar to yours in the past and delivered results.
