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What to know before taking a weather-related slip and fall case
By:  Alex J. Bell

While Texas may be known for its summer heat, it also has the occasional snow or ice storm as well.  Because of its rarity, Texas law has strong defenses for Texas landlords when it comes to Mother Nature. 

In Texas, claims for injuries that result from naturally accumulating snow and ice (or water or mud) are going to have a tough go of it.  A 2010 Texas Supreme Court case held that naturally occurring ice that accumulates without the assistance or involvement of unnatural contact is not an unreasonably dangerous condition sufficient to support a premises liability claim.  This also applies to other naturally occurring or accumulating conditions such as rain or mud.  The basis for these decisions is that rain, dirt, mud, and ice are naturally occurring conditions beyond a landowner’s control and that the duty to be aware of these conditions and avoid them is more fairly placed upon the individual.

In Scott & White Memorial Hosp. v. Fair, 310 S.W.3d 411, 419 (Tex. 2010), the plaintiff slipped and fell on ice that had accumulated on a road adjacent to the hospital’s parking lot following a winter storm.  The plaintiff and his spouse sued the hospital for negligence.  The hospital moved for summary judgment on the basis that the accumulated ice did not pose an unreasonable risk of harm, which the trial court granted.  The court of appeals reversed, holding that the hospital failed to “conclusively establish that the ice accumulation was in its natural state and was not an unreasonably dangerous condition.” 

On petition for review, the Texas Supreme Court, in upholding the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of the hospital, rejected the plaintiffs’ contention that ice should be treated differently from mud because icy conditions rarely occur in Texas because both conditions pose the same risk of harm, and ice, like mud, results from precipitation beyond a premises owner’s control.  Further, invitees “are at least as aware as landowners of the existence of [ice] that has accumulated naturally outdoors and will often be in a better position to take immediate precautions against injury.”  Therefore, naturally occurring ice that accumulates without the assistance or involvement of unnatural contact is not an unreasonably dangerous condition sufficient to support a premises liability claim.  Ice is naturally occurring when meteorological forces of nature cause it to accumulate (although what exactly that phrase means is yet to be determined).

The Court also decided not to punish landowners who try to do something about the ice or snow. Salting, shoveling, or applying a chemical deicer to a natural ice accumulation does not transform it into an unnatural one.  According to the Court, it would be unfair to punish business owners who, as a courtesy to invitees, attempt to make their premises safe.  Also, ice that melts and refreezes is still deemed a natural accumulation.

So, if you’ve got a potential client with a slip and fall case related to ice, snow, rain, or mud, pay careful attention to the facts of their incident and make sure a duty exists.

Alex J. Bell is a senior associate attorney in the Dallas office of Fletcher Farley Shipman & Salinas.  He serves as a TYLA director of District 5, Place 3.