Slip & Fall Attorneys

You are going on about your day as normal, and suddenly, while walking on someone else’s property, you slip and fall to the ground. Maybe there was an uneven section on the walkway, or a patch of ice; regardless of the cause, you are now injured.

Unexpected falls, even if they seem minor, can cause life-altering injuries. If someone’s negligence left you with a serious injury, medical bills you can’t afford, and stress about what to do next, schedule a free consultation with our slip and fall attorneys at Giroux Pappas.

Slip-&-Fall Incidents in Michigan

Slip-and-fall incidents can happen anywhere—at the grocery store, at work, or on your neighbor’s property. While some slip-and-fall incidents cause minor injuries, such as twisted ankles, other accidents can result in loss of life. In fact, MIOSHA reported 43 deaths in 2025, a 26% rise since 2024. 14% of those deaths were due to falls. It’s important to note that not all accidents get reported to federal agencies.

According to the CDC’s most recent statistics, falls are the leading cause of fatalities for the senior population (ages 65 and up). They report that in 2021, over 3 million emergency department visits were related to older adult falls. The CDC also states another important truth—these falls can be prevented.

Indeed, any fall, regardless of location and the individual’s age, can be prevented. Any number of slip-and-fall accidents is too high. Even if the accident doesn’t result in death, it can still cause severe injuries, including traumatic brain injury, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, paralysis, hip fractures, slipped discs, and other conditions that can affect a person for the rest of their life.

Common Causes of Slip-&-Fall Accidents

• Uneven flooring
• Poor lighting
• Wet floors
• Debris
• Imbalance on elevators, escalators, tractors, ladders, and other elevated platforms
• Icy or snowy walkways
• Worn, warped, or broken steps
• Broken handrails

Liability in Slip-&-Fall Cases

Determining liability in any personal injury case requires the expertise of an experienced legal professional. However, many slip-and-fall cases fall under ‘premises liability.’ Before 2023, Michigan property owners were immune to claims regarding “open and obvious” hazardous conditions, meaning that if an individual with average intelligence could identify an open and obvious hazard, the property owner had no obligation to provide a warning or remove said hazard.

This is no longer the case. Under Michigan’s new premises liability law, property owners are responsible for:

• Protecting their guests from unreasonable risks and hazardous conditions, even those that are deemed open and obvious.
• Anticipating potential hazards and mitigating them.

When a property owner’s negligence causes a slip-and-fall injury, you can file a premises liability lawsuit within three years after the date of the incident (although we would recommend that you file a claim as soon as possible).

Proving Negligence

Before you can recover damages for a slip-and-fall claim, you must prove that the defendant was negligent and that that negligence caused your damages. A proper defendant has possession and control of the premises where your injury occurred, and the duty the defendant owes depends upon your status at the time of your injury.

Part of proving negligence is establishing a duty of care. There are three levels in premises liability cases:

• Trespasser: Someone who enters a property without the owner’s express or implied permission for the trespasser’s own amusement or benefit. The property owner has a duty of care to trespassers insofar as they cannot legally place pitfalls or traps to deliberately cause injury. Once a premises possessor becomes aware of trespassers, it is their duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent them from being injured. Child trespassers are owed a higher duty of care than adults.
• Licensee: Someone on the premises with permission, but not for commercial purposes, such as a social guest. A premises possessor has a duty to warn a licensee of hidden dangers the owner knows or has reason to know about. The premises possessor does not owe a licensee a duty to inspect the premises to discover hidden dangers or an affirmative duty to make the premises safe. In other words, a licensee assumes the ordinary risks associated with their permitted entry onto another’s premises.
• Invitee: Someone on the premises for commercial purposes, such as a customer. The defendant must exercise reasonable care to protect an invitee from an unreasonable risk of harm caused by a dangerous condition on the land. Using reasonable care to protect invitees may include inspecting the premises, making any necessary repairs, or warning patrons of any known or foreseeable hazards.

What to Do After a Slip-&-Fall

1. Seek Medical Attention: Even if you think you are fine, schedule an assessment with your primary care provider or seek emergency care for more severe situations. Keep all documentation, including bills and insurance claims.
2. Take Photos & Contact Witnesses: When time allows, take photos of where you fell on the day of (including debris, water puddles, or other details that can help identify the cause) and of your injuries. If anyone witnessed the incident, be sure to collect their information.
3. Report the Incident: Contact the property owner to file an incident report.
4. Seek Legal Help: While you have three years to file a premises liability claim, we recommend filing one as soon as possible and consulting an experienced personal injury attorney. Our slip and fall accident attorneys can help you calculate damages, file your claim correctly and on time, provide legal advice, and represent you in court.

Frequently Asked Questions

We understand how complex slip-and-fall incidents can be. In our FAQs below, we’ve answered some of the most common questions we get surrounding these types of incidents.