Slip and fall accidents are one of the leading causes of personal injury in the winter. Sometimes, these accidents are the unavoidable result of harsh weather conditions. Other times, it is someone’s carelessness that leads others to fall and get hurt. Many slips and falls are entirely preventable when property owners and business operators use reasonable care to keep those on their premises safe. A number of careless practices when it comes to managing winter weather conditions can make accidents more likely. 

Demonstrating liability for a slip and fall can be challenging, due to a number of Wisconsin state laws. Whether you will be able to recover is highly dependent on the specific facts of your case. You will most likely need to speak with an attorney first to determine whether you may be eligible for compensation. 

What Causes Winter Slip and Falls - and Could I Recover?

Wisconsin land and business owners may not be liable for every slip and fall that happens on their property due to active weather conditions. However, Milwaukee and a number of other Wisconsin cities have local ordinances that require those with properties abutting a sidewalk or other public walkways to clear snow and ice accumulations after the winter storm has stopped. Common reasons people are injured after slipping and falling in the winter include: 

As the temperature drops during the winter, Wisconsin residents may encounter a variety of safety issues. Snow and ice that accumulates on sidewalks or other walking surfaces may lead to slip and fall accidents that result in multiple types of serious injuries, such as broken bones or traumatic brain injuries. Victims of these types of accidents may experience a number of difficulties, including costly medical treatment and loss of income if they are unable to work while they are recovering. In these situations, victims will want to determine whether they can take legal action to recover financial compensation from the owner of the property where their injury occurred.

Liability for Slip and Fall Injuries Caused by Snow or Ice

A person’s ability to pursue compensation for a slip and fall accident will usually depend on whether the injury occurred at an establishment that was open to the public, a private residence, or a public area such as a sidewalk. Private property owners are required to take steps to protect the safety of visitors, including addressing slipping hazards on walkways, porches, patios, or decks. If a visitor to a person’s home slips on snow or ice that was not properly cleared, they may be covered under a homeowner’s insurance policy, or they may be able to take legal action to recover compensation for injuries that occurred because of the property owner’s negligence.

Owners of stores, restaurants, or other establishments are also required to protect the safety of customers or other visitors. Areas where people walk, such as parking lots, should be cleared of snow and ice. A property owner or a tenant who leases commercial property may be liable for slip and fall injuries that occur because walking surfaces were not reasonably safe.

For many people and families, dogs are loving companions. Because of this, it can be easy to forget that dogs can also be dangerous, and they can inflict serious injuries when they bite or attack someone. By working with a personal injury attorney, dog bite victims can take legal action to pursue financial compensation that addresses their injuries and any other damages they have suffered.

Liability for Dog Bites Under Wisconsin Law

Victims of dog bite injuries have the right to pursue compensation from an animal’s owner or another person who was in control of a dog, such as a landlord or pet sitter. Wisconsin law states that a dog’s owner can be liable for the full amount of the damages inflicted by their pet when a dog injures a person or another domestic animal or causes damage to property. 

An owner may be liable for injuries inflicted by their dog, even if they did not know that a dog had dangerous or aggressive tendencies or if the dog had not previously bitten or attacked anyone. However, if a dog did have a history of aggressive behavior, a dog’s owner may be required to pay additional damages. If a dog bites someone with force strong enough to break the skin, resulting in permanent scars or disfigurement, and the dog’s owner knew that the dog had previously bitten someone without provocation and inflicted the same types of injuries, the owner may be required to pay two times the amount of a victim’s damages.

If you have been bitten by a dog, you are at risk for a number of injuries. First, there is likely some sort of wound, and the degree of severity can range from superficial to severe. You also may be at risk for scarring or permanent disfiguration. Another possible injury that people often overlook with dog bites is the transmission of a disease or infection. 

Wisconsin Dog Bite Laws 

Under Wisconsin law, an owner is typically responsible for injuries caused by their dog. It does not matter if the owner was not on the scene when the attack occurred or if the owner took steps to protect others from the dog. This type of law is called “strict liability.”

It also does not matter if the dog owner believed that the dog was not dangerous or if they did not know of any previous attacks. A dog owner may be held responsible for any injury their dog inflicts on any other person, domestic animal, or property. In addition, if it can be proven that a dog owner was told or knew that the dog previously, without provocation, had bitten a person with sufficient force to break the skin and cause permanent physical scarring or disfigurement, the owner may be held liable for double the amount of damages.

Slipping and falling can lead to serious injuries that may require extensive medical treatment. If you have been hurt in a slip and fall accident, there are things you can do to strengthen your case and increase your chances of recovering compensation. 

Demonstrating Liability

One of the main hurdles in a slip and fall case is proving that the business or property owner knew of the condition that caused your fall and did not take the proper steps to correct it. Alternately, you can satisfy this requirement by showing that any reasonable business or property owner would have known about the condition, because it was present for a substantial period of time before you fell.

Following an injury, you should take the following steps: