Walking on a sidewalk shouldn’t be a frightening experience, as the sole purpose of sidewalks is to ensure pedestrian safety from traffic while walking down the street. Unfortunately, the reality is that when a sidewalk is not maintained to the standard that it should be, pedestrians can become seriously injured. If a pedestrian slips, falls, or trips while walking on a sidewalk, they may face lacerations, a concussion, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, or other serious injuries that come with burdens for years down the road. Victims of sidewalk accidents may face economic and emotional strains in addition to their injuries. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a serious sidewalk accident in Maryland, it is important to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you hold the sidewalk owner liable and assist in recovering compensation on your behalf. The sidewalk accident attorneys from Markey & Orsi have proudly represented clients in sidewalk accident cases for nearly 30 years. Contact our firm today.
Causes of Baltimore County Sidewalk Accidents
Though we assume that all sidewalks in Baltimore are well maintained, this is not always the case. Ultimately, when a property owner fails to maintain their piece of the sidewalk, pedestrians can be seriously injured. Usually, the party that claims ownership of the sidewalk is the owner of the adjacent property, whether it is a private citizen, a business, or the municipality. There are a number of different dangerous conditions that may exist on a sidewalk, some of which include standing water, surface issues, hazardous materials, loose debris, and, of course, snow or ice that has been left unattended. When sidewalk conditions cause a pedestrian to become seriously injured, the victim may want to consider his or her legal options and speak with an experienced personal injury attorney.
Accidents Caused by Weather Conditions
As stated above, weather conditions can be quite hazardous to pedestrians. When a person slips and falls because of snow, ice, or standing water, they can be seriously injured. While regularly, people need to address standing water, ice, or snow on their section of sidewalk, towns across Maryland have different rules and regulations regarding the cleanup after a storm. Reasonably so, people have a certain amount of time after a snowstorm to clear their property and adjacent sidewalks. In Baltimore County, property owners have 24 hours to clear foot pavements of snow and ice. A violation of that deadline can support a claim, but the deadline is not the whole of the analysis, and a pedestrian injured before it expires is not automatically barred from suing. When it comes to snow and ice, time can quickly erase evidence.
When a Property Owner Is Actually Liable for Snow and Ice
Maryland law here is narrower than most people expect, and it does not turn on the clock. As a general rule, an owner of property abutting a public sidewalk owes no duty to pedestrians to clear a natural accumulation of snow or ice, and that remains true even where a local ordinance requires the sidewalk to be cleared. The ordinance creates an obligation to the county. It does not, by itself, create a private right to sue.
Liability usually attaches somewhere else. Where an owner undertakes to clear the sidewalk and performs the work negligently, creating a new element of danger that natural forces alone would not have produced, that owner may be held responsible. A path shoveled so that meltwater runs across it and refreezes is the classic example. Municipalities are held to a more demanding standard, but a claimant must show notice of the particular defect, not merely that it had snowed.
Why Contributory Negligence Matters on Ice
Maryland is one of a small number of jurisdictions that still applies contributory negligence. If a pedestrian is found even slightly at fault, recovery is barred entirely.
On ice, this is the whole fight. The defense will argue that the hazard was open and obvious, that you saw it and walked on it anyway, and that you therefore assumed the risk. That argument is not always a winner. Whether a danger was truly obvious, whether a reasonable person had any alternative route, and whether you were watching where you were going are questions of fact.
This is why photographs taken at the scene matter so much, and why what you say afterward matters just as much.
Proving Negligence in a Sidewalk Accident
One of the most important components of any personal injury case is the requirement that the injured party (the plaintiff) is able to prove that the property owner knew or should have reasonably known about the dangerous conditions and failed to remedy them, which ultimately caused the accident. Sidewalk accident cases are no different. The injured party will have to work closely with their attorney to come up with evidence so they can fulfill the burden of proof. This is why it is so important for the sidewalk accident victim to take pictures of the dangerous conditions that caused the accident before they leave the scene. If they try to come back and take pictures at a later date, the property owner may have fixed the hazards in an effort to cover up their negligence.
Contact Our Baltimore County Sidewalk Accident Attorneys
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident while walking on a Baltimore County sidewalk, it is important to consider your legal options. A successful personal injury case can allow you to recover significant compensation for your lost wages, medical bills, and emotional distress. If you need an experienced sidewalk accident attorney, contact Markey & Orsi today to discuss your case.