22 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 19, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
A SNOW FALL
Q: Early one winter morning, while walking in the parking lot of a
store, I slipped and fell on frozen snow and ice.
A: At first, your attorney is likely to be preoccupied by the following
two questions. (1) Was snow still falling? (2) If not, how long before your
accident had snow ceased to fall? The reason is that, under the so-called
‘storm in progress rule’, a property owner is usually not held liable unless
enough time had passed, after the storm had stopped, to permit remediation
of its hazards. The rule is designed to relieve the owner of any obligation to
shovel snow while continuing precipitation or high winds are simply
re-covering the area as fast as it is cleaned, thus rendering the effort fruitless.
All the same, if a storm is ongoing, and the owner elects to remove
snow, the owner must do so with reasonable care. Otherwise, the owner could
be held liable for creating or exacerbating the natural hazard created by the
storm.
To understand whether the storm was ongoing, and when it had
ceased, your attorney will be happy to get your recollection. But he or she has
other resources, too. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and other entities collect a wealth of weather information. At airports, at
Central Park, and from helicopters, snow and other precipitation is
measured, and the temperature is taken – often every hour.
On the other hand, there is no substitute for your own photographs,
taken of the scene of your slip and fall, as soon as reasonably possible after it
occurred. For an accident victim, the first priority is always prompt medical
attention. In terms of helping the lawsuit, photographs can often be a second
priority.
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216-18 Jamaica Ave 2nd Floor
Queens Village, NY 11428
Bus: 718-468-6500
don.enga.gujn@statefarm.com
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