Black Ice: Why It's Dangerous And How To Protect Yourself In A Lawsuit
Black ice is that nasty sort of ice that is so clear that all you see is the asphalt just underneath it. You think it is safe to walk on it, but then BOOM! Down you go. Dozens of personal injury cases are filed every year against businesses that have failed to clear black ice. You do not want you and your business to be one of them. To better understand the dangers of black ice, and to protect yourself in a lawsuit, here is what you need to know.
Falling on Black Ice
Falling on black ice is more dangerous than falling on ice you can see. Because the ice layer over the asphalt is so thin, there is really nothing to catch the force with which you hit the pavement besides your own body. Elderly people have been known to break legs, arms, and hips falling indoors where there is carpeting. They certainly can do that and much worse on what is very close to bare asphalt and concrete. Other adults and children can be seriously injured too.
When Somebody Files a Lawsuit Against You for a Black Ice Fall
Usually, people visit a personal injury lawyer because they are the ones injured. However, personal injury lawyers handle the defense side of these cases too. If you are suddenly surprised by a court official with documents to appear for a slip and fall on black ice case, you can hire your own slip and fall lawyer. They are experts at determining if something really did happen or if the person accusing you of negligence of your property is just making it up.
Protecting Yourself and Your Business
While you would certainly hope that no one ever is injured in the parking lot or on the walkway leading up to your business, you can never be too sure something did not happen. You can protect your business both before and after a possible black ice injury by constantly salting the asphalt and concrete in winter and installing security cameras in the parking lot. Keep records of when the salting or ice-melt was applied, and keep copies of security footage for every day in a month until three months afterwards. This way, you can pull up the footage of the parking lot and walkways of the days in question in court and provide a lawyer like Clearfield & Kofsky with the documents for ice and snow removal to disprove the litigant's case against you.