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What to Do If You Slip and Fall on the Ice or Snow
By:
Deutschmann Personal Injury & Disability Law (Lawyers)
| Published 02/01/2021
Slip and falls on snow and ice are very common in Canada in the winter. We have all experienced the feeling of beginning to slide and losing our balance while walking outside on the ice. Sometimes you recover from the slide. Other times your feet start to slide and panic rises. Your arms reach out as you try to gain some balance. When you fall injuries are common and can be severe.
Common injuries from slip and falls on ice include:
- broken wrists,
- broken arms,
- dislocated shoulders,
- traumatic brain injury,
- spinal cord injury
- broken or twisted ankles. Here are the steps you need to take if you slip and fall on the ice and snow this winter and hurt yourself.
If you’ve slipped and fallen on the ice and have hurt yourself you should call for medical help. Even injuries that you think are minor can snowball into major medical problems if left untreated.
What to Do If You Fall on Ice and Snow
If you slip and fall resist the urge to jump up and dust yourself off because you are embarrassed. Take a moment to assess how you feel. Don’t worry about what other people are thinking. Focus on yourself. Ask for help if you need it.
- If you are in pain seek medical attention immediately – call 911 if you think you’ve broken something or injured yourself seriously.
- Note the witness names and contact information.
- Take a picture of the conditions on the place you fell. You can ask someone else to that for you. This can be crucial to any claim you make for benefits.
- Report the accident as soon as you can to the business or property owner, or the municipality if you fell on public property.
- Call an experienced personal injury lawyer like Deutschmann Law immediately. Many personal injury claims have filing timelines or notification timelines which can be extremely short.
How Can You Keep Yourself Safe and Avoid a Slip and Fall
- Wear appropriate winter footwear.
- Watch where you are walking. Use railings on stairs and don’t keep your hands in your pockets.
- Take shorter and more cautious steps and walk more slowly and carefully.
- Be extra careful when stepping out of a car or bus, or off a flight of stairs.
- Make sure to wipe the snow and ice off your boots when you are entering a building. You will keep yourself (and others) safer.
What Should Property Owners Do to Keep People Safe?
- Keep your walkways clear of snow and ice by shovelling, sanding and salting as require.
- If you cannot keep an area clear of ice and snow hire a professional contractor.
- Pile snow in safe areas.
- If you have areas that are chronically icy make sure to mark them and find a solution for the problem.
- Keep your entrance ways clean and clear of ice, snow and water.
If you’ve hurt yourself in a slip and fall accident call Deutschmann Law immediately for expert advice and a free initial consultation. Notice periods and filing periods for claims vary and can be very short.
