Slip and Fall Injury at a Motel in Vermont
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Slip and Fall Injury at a Motel in Vermont

by | Feb 9, 2021 | Firm News

I represent people who are injured when they slip and fall. This is a summary of a recent case we successfully settled without going to court. As I typically do, I represented this client on a contingent fee basis. There was no money paid by her. My fee was paid out of the settlement proceeds. Please call me today for a free consultation if you have a personal injury case as you may be able to recover money for your injuries and to pay the medical bills. My phone number is [nap_phone id=”LOCAL-REGULAR-NUMBER-1″].

On January 6, 2020, our client slipped and fell on the premises at the motel, suffering serious injuries. Her husband parked his vehicle in the parking lot and turned off the vehicle. Our client got out of the car, took two steps, slipped and fell on her left side, injuring her knee and shoulder. Her husband reported the injury to the front desk clerk. The parking lot was extremely slippery and she did not go very far after exiting the vehicle before she slipped and fell.

Surfaces which are otherwise safe become potentially dangerous when covered with ice and snow. When a walking surface such as a parking lot or sidewalk is icy, snowy or otherwise slippery, the amount of available traction provided to pedestrian guests like our client is substantially reduced and slipping can occur. Obviously, this condition is well-recognized by motel owners, store owners, pedestrians and others. It is the recognition of this phenomenon that prompted the public policy in which property owners, including this motel, are charged with the duty to maintain surface areas in a reasonably safe condition.

A slippery sidewalk or parking lot is a type of hazard that is readily identifiable if reasonable preventive measures had been performed by this motel. Regular inspections of the sidewalk and parking lot area would have discovered the existence of an extremely hazardous surface area and the lack of a hazard-free means of ingress and egress to the motel building. Simply put, the sidewalk and parking areas were not properly maintained and were unsafe for guests and other visitors at the motel, and the motel should have expected that an injury was likely.