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You are not liable. At least not according to most laws in european countries. It may be different in the US though. If you don't make your sidewalk safe for p
by LinaLauneBaer 13y ago
You are not liable. At least not according to most laws in european countries. It may be different in the US though.
If you don't make your sidewalk safe for people and someone breaks his neck because of that you are only liable if it was not obvious that the sidewalk was not safe. For example: If there is ice on the sidewalk it is obvious that it is not safe to walk on.
Same is true for a wet floor in the supermarket. Even without a sign saying "DANGER" it is obvious that it is dangerous to walk over the wet floor fast.
In most european countries not removing the ice from your sidewalk can only be punished with a monetary fine. But it has nothing to do with paying for other peoples injuries.
- apgwoz 13y agoIt is of course not always obvious that there is a) ice on a sidewalk. b) that a floor is wet.
- LinaLauneBaer 13y agoIn most cases I am sure it is obvious. If there is 0 F outside, snow, dark, icy sidewalks and you are going outside acting like it is summer and you fall down it is your own fault and nobody except you is liable for that. I think we agree here. I can only talk about the German court system in detail but usually cases where somebody breaks his arm because of an icy sidewalk do not even end up in a court room. For a sidewalk to be icy it has to be cold. If you are going outside, it is cold and your are acting like it is summer (even without snow, it being dark, ...) you are the one who fell and nobody is liable for that. It is common knowledge that you should be careful. This is at least how it works in Germany and in many countries in Europe.