You slipped on a spill in a store, tripped on a broken step at your apartment or went down on an icy walkway, and now you’re wondering whether you could actually win a claim. If you’re sore, embarrassed and worried that no one will believe the floor was the problem, that’s normal.
Here’s the plain answer. To win a slip-and-fall case, you generally have to prove that whoever controlled the property knew about the hazard or should have found it, didn’t fix it or warn you in time, and that the hazard caused your injuries. A fall by itself isn’t enough, and much of the evidence can disappear fast. Being partly at fault usually reduces what you recover rather than ending the claim. Michigan’s rules are in the boxes marked “In Michigan.”
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Falls are common: U.S. emergency departments treated an estimated 10.1 million injuries from unintentional falls in 2024, more than from any other cause of unintentional injury, according to the CDC’s WISQARS injury data. But a fall alone doesn’t make anyone else responsible. For the basics of a fall claim, start with the slip-and-fall lawsuit guide; this page covers what it takes to win one.
What do you have to prove to win a slip-and-fall case?
Injuries caused by unsafe property are premises liability claims, a kind of negligence claim: a claim that someone failed to use the care a reasonable person would use. Owners aren’t insurers of everyone’s safety, so you must prove it’s more likely than not that the owner was negligent. In a fall case, that usually means showing five things:
- Duty. Whoever controlled the property owed you care. How much depends on why you were there.
- Notice of a hazard. Something posed an unreasonable risk of harm, such as a spill, a torn mat, a broken stair or untreated ice, and the owner created it, knew about it or should have found it. See common causes of slip-and-fall accidents.
- Breach. The owner fell short of reasonable care: it didn’t fix the hazard, block it off or warn you within a reasonable time.
- Causation. That hazard, and not something else, caused your fall and your injuries.
- Damages. You were actually hurt, with losses such as medical bills, lost pay or pain.
Did the owner owe you a duty?
In states that keep the traditional rules, including Michigan, the owner’s duty depends on why you were on the property. Here’s how the categories work, using the Michigan Supreme Court’s descriptions (Stitt v Holland Abundant Life Fellowship, 2000):
| Why you were there | Label | What the owner owes you |
|---|---|---|
| For a business purpose, such as shopping | Invitee | Reasonable care, including inspecting the property and, as needed, repairing or warning of hazards it finds |
| As a social guest, or otherwise with permission | Licensee | A warning about hidden dangers the owner knows or has reason to know of, if you don’t know or have reason to know of them; no duty to inspect |
| Without permission | Trespasser | Generally no duty, with narrow exceptions, such as willful and wanton misconduct or a child hurt by a dangerous artificial condition (Michigan: MCL 554.583) |
Some states have dropped these labels and instead ask whether the owner acted reasonably under the circumstances, including California (Rowland v. Christian, 1968) and New York (Basso v. Miller, 1976).
Did the owner know, or should it have known?
Notice is where many fall claims are won or lost. There are three common ways to show it:
- Actual notice: the owner or an employee knew, for example from a complaint or a work order.
- Constructive notice: the hazard had been there long enough, or was noticeable enough, that a reasonably careful owner would have found it.
- The owner created it: an employee mopped without a warning sign or ran a cord across a walkway.
Proof of how long a hazard was there carries a lot of weight: dried or dirty edges on a spill, cart tracks through it, or records of the last floor check.
Did the owner act reasonably?
Knowing about a hazard isn’t enough by itself: the question is whether the owner had time to clean up, repair or warn, and didn’t. How often was the area checked? Was there a warning sign you could see? Inspection and cleaning logs, work orders and the owner’s own safety rules can answer that, and a long gap between checks can support your case.
Did the hazard cause your injuries?
Expect the owner’s insurer to blame your shoes, your phone or an old injury. Prompt medical care, with each provider told exactly how you fell, puts the link in your records, while a long gap in treatment invites the argument that something else caused your pain.
What evidence do you need to win a slip-and-fall case?
Fall cases turn on evidence, and the most important pieces are often in the owner’s hands. The claims process favors the side that keeps the records: the business has the video, the incident report and the cleaning logs, and its insurer handles claims like yours every day.
| Evidence | What it can show | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Surveillance video | When the hazard appeared, how long it was there and how you fell | Ask in writing, right away, for it to be kept, including the hours before your fall; many systems record over old footage automatically |
| The incident report | The time, place and conditions, and what staff and witnesses said | Report the fall before you leave and ask for a copy, or note the report number and who took it |
| Inspection, cleaning and maintenance records | Whether and when anyone checked the area, and earlier complaints | Ask in writing that they be kept |
| Your own photos | The hazard before it changes, the lighting, any warning sign (or none) and your shoes | Take them from several angles, and keep the original files backed up |
| Witnesses | What they saw, including employees who said something like “we’ve been meaning to fix that” | Get names and phone numbers, and write down their words |
| Weather and snow-removal records | When the snow started and stopped, and when the area was plowed or salted | Note the time you fell, and ask for the plowing and salting records |
| Your shoes and clothes | That your footwear wasn’t the problem | Bag them, uncleaned |
| Your notes | Why you took that route and what anyone said | Write them down while they’re fresh |
| Medical and money records | Your injuries, treatment and losses | Keep bills, records and proof of missed pay, plus a daily note of your pain and what you can’t do |
An incident report helps, but it’s written after the fall, so it doesn’t by itself prove the owner knew about the hazard beforehand. Don’t hand your evidence or a recorded statement to the owner’s insurer before you’ve had advice. For a printable checklist, see what to do after a slip and fall, step by step.
How do you get the owner’s video and records?
There are three tools, and the order matters:
- Before any lawsuit, a written request. Ask the manager or landlord in writing to keep the video (including the hours before your fall), the incident report and the inspection and cleaning records, and give the date, time and place of your fall. A lawyer can send a formal version, often called a preservation letter. It isn’t a court order, but it puts the owner on notice. See how to preserve evidence after an accident.
- After a lawsuit is filed, discovery. In discovery, the formal exchange of evidence, your lawyer asks the owner, as a party, to produce its records (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34).
- A subpoena for everyone else. A subpoena reaches people and companies outside the lawsuit, such as a snow-removal contractor or a security company that keeps footage (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 34(c) and 45).
Discovery and subpoenas generally come only after a lawsuit is filed, so the written request comes first.
What if the owner says you should have seen the hazard?
An “open and obvious” hazard is one an ordinary person would notice with a casual look. States treat the “you should have seen it” argument differently. In some, it can still end the claim: Ohio’s Supreme Court held in 2003 that “where a danger is open and obvious, a landowner owes no duty of care to individuals lawfully on the premises” (Armstrong v. Best Buy Co.). In others, it’s one factor in whether the owner acted reasonably and how much of the fault is yours.
What about snow and ice?
Snow and ice rules vary a lot by state. Ice claims often turn on timing and upkeep, so note when it started snowing, whether it had stopped and whether the spot had been shoveled or salted.
What if you were partly at fault?
Owners and their insurers often argue that you caused your own fall: you were on your phone, carrying too much, wearing slick shoes or skipping a safer route. In most states, being partly at fault reduces what you can recover; it doesn’t end your claim. The rule depends on where you fell:
| Rule | What your share of the fault does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pure comparative fault | Reduces your damages by your share, however large it is | Washington (RCW 4.22.005) |
| 50% bar | Reduces your damages; at 50% or more, you recover nothing | Kansas (K.S.A. 60-258a) |
| 51% bar | Reduces your damages; above 50%, you recover nothing | Ohio (Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.33) |
| Contributory negligence | Any fault of your own can bar recovery | Maryland (Coleman v. Soccer Ass’n of Columbia, 2013), plus Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. |
| Michigan’s hybrid | Reduced by your share; above 50%, economic damages only | Michigan (MCL 600.2959) |
The modified rules, with a 50% or 51% bar, are the most common (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute); see every state’s comparative fault rule and the law behind it. Evidence answers blame: photos of the lighting and the missing warning sign, your notes on why you took that route, your shoes and what witnesses saw.
Told the fall was your own fault? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.
What if you fell on government property?
Falls on public property come with extra rules: government agencies are often immune from injury claims, the exceptions are narrow, and notice deadlines are short. California, for example, requires a claim against a public entity for an injury within six months (Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2(a)). For a fall on federal property, you must first file a written claim with the agency within two years, and you can sue only after it denies the claim in writing or doesn’t decide it within six months; once a written denial is mailed, you have six months to sue (28 U.S.C. §§ 2401(b), 2675(a)).
How long do you have to file a slip-and-fall lawsuit?
Every state sets a deadline for filing an injury lawsuit, called a statute of limitations; California’s, for example, is two years for most injury lawsuits (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). See injury deadlines in every state, and talk to a lawyer well before yours, because a case needs time to investigate.
What is a slip-and-fall case worth?
An “average” settlement figure without a named dataset and year can’t tell you what your claim is worth. Value depends on:
- how badly you were hurt, and how long treatment and recovery take
- how clearly the evidence shows the owner knew or should have known about the hazard
- any share of the fault assigned to you
- the insurance available to pay the claim
- whether every notice and deadline was met
A claim can seek economic damages, losses you can add up, such as medical bills and lost pay, and noneconomic damages, harm without a receipt, such as pain and suffering. What you take home is what’s left after the lawyer’s fee, case costs and any liens, meaning money owed back to whoever paid for your care. See what drives the value of a slip-and-fall settlement and how personal injury lawyers get paid.
What to do next
- Get medical care, and keep going. Tell every provider how you fell, follow the treatment plan and keep your records.
- Save the evidence today. Ask the owner in writing to keep its video and its inspection and cleaning records, photograph the hazard, get the incident report and witness names, and bag your shoes.
- Find your deadlines. If a public sidewalk, road or building was involved, the notice deadline may come first; in Michigan, it’s 120 days.
- Be careful what you say and sign. Hold off on a recorded statement to the owner’s insurer until you’ve had advice, and don’t sign a release before you know how badly you’re hurt: a release gives up your right to sue.
- Get a free case review. A lawyer can tell you whether the evidence shows notice and what your claim may be worth. Get a free case review, or, if you were hurt in Michigan, compare Michigan injury lawyers.
What waiting can cost
- Proof of notice. Video gets recorded over, spills get mopped and ice melts, and with them goes the evidence of how long the hazard was there.
- A claim against the government. In Michigan, notice of a road, sidewalk or public-building defect is due within 120 days, and a notice served on day 140 ended the claim in Rowland.
- The right to sue. Most Michigan fall lawsuits must be filed within three years of the injury (MCL 600.5805(2)).
- Witnesses. People move, change jobs and forget what they saw.
What a good outcome looks like
The evidence shows what the owner knew and when, so your case turns on facts rather than an adjuster’s guess. Any share of the fault assigned to you matches what actually happened. Your medical bills and lost pay are covered by whoever was responsible, every notice goes out on time, and before you sign anything, you know what you’ll take home. From wondering whether you can win to knowing what you must prove, what to save and when your deadlines fall.
For other injuries on someone else’s property, browse the slip, fall and unsafe property guides.
Frequently asked questions
What do you have to prove to win a slip-and-fall case?
Generally, that whoever controlled the property owed you a duty of care, knew about the hazard or should have found it, didn't fix it or warn you within a reasonable time, and that the hazard caused your injuries and losses. A fall by itself isn't enough. In Michigan, you must show the owner had actual or constructive notice of the hazard; the owner doesn't have to prove it didn't know (Lowrey v LMPS & LMPJ, Inc, 2016).
Can I win a slip-and-fall case if I was partly at fault?
Often, yes. In most states, your share of the fault reduces what you recover instead of ending the claim, though many states bar recovery once your share reaches 50% or 51%, and Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C., can bar it for any fault at all (Cornell LII). In Michigan, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault; if your share is greater than everyone else's combined, you still recover reduced economic damages but no noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering (MCL 600.2959).
How do I get a store's surveillance video after a slip and fall?
Ask the store in writing, right away, to keep it, including the hours before your fall, because many systems record over old footage automatically. A lawyer can send a formal request, often called a preservation letter. Once a lawsuit is filed, the store must respond to a written request to produce its records (in Michigan, MCR 2.310), and a subpoena can reach a company outside the case, such as a security contractor (MCR 2.305).
Does an incident report prove the store was at fault?
Not by itself. It records what happened and what staff and witnesses said, which helps, but it's written after the fall. You still have to show the store knew about the hazard or should have found it, for example with proof of how long it was there, earlier complaints or gaps in inspections (in Michigan, Lowrey v LMPS & LMPJ, Inc, 2016). Ask for a copy before you leave, or write down the report number and who took it.
Can I win a slip-and-fall case if the hazard was open and obvious?
It depends on the state. Ohio's Supreme Court held in 2003 that a landowner owes no duty of care for an open and obvious danger (Armstrong v. Best Buy Co.). In Michigan, since Kandil-Elsayed v F & E Oil (July 28, 2023), an obvious hazard bears on whether the owner acted reasonably and on your share of fault instead of ending a customer's claim, though an owner that acted reasonably can still win.
How long do I have to file a slip-and-fall lawsuit in Michigan?
Usually three years from the fall (MCL 600.5805(2)). If a defective public sidewalk, road or building caused it, written notice is due within 120 days (180 days for a child hurt on a road or sidewalk), and a highway-defect lawsuit within two years (MCL 691.1404, 691.1406, 691.1411(2)).
Sources
- WISQARS Explore: nonfatal injuries from unintentional falls treated in U.S. emergency departments, 2024 (NEISS-AIP national estimates) · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- About WISQARS nonfatal injury data (NEISS All Injury Program) · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Kandil-Elsayed v F & E Oil, Inc; Pinsky v Kroger Co of Mich, 512 Mich 95 (decided July 28, 2023), overruling Lugo v Ameritech Corp, Inc (2001) and quoting Hoffner v Lanctoe (2012) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Lowrey v LMPS & LMPJ, Inc (Docket No. 153025, decided December 13, 2016) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Clark v Kmart Corp (Docket No. 117511, decided October 23, 2001) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Stitt v Holland Abundant Life Fellowship, 462 Mich 591 (2000) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Janini v London Townhouses Condominium Ass'n (Docket No. 164158, decided July 11, 2024) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Bowerman v Red Oak Management Co, Inc (Docket No. 167718, decided July 20, 2026) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Allison v AEW Capital Management, LLP, 481 Mich 419 (decided June 25, 2008) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Quinlivan v Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co, Inc, 395 Mich 244 (1975) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Molitoris v Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, order granting leave to appeal (Docket No. 166699, May 22, 2026) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Molitoris v Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, order extending the time for the appellee's brief (September 2, 2026) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Rowland v Washtenaw County Road Commission (Docket No. 130379, decided May 2, 2007) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Brenner v Kolk, 226 Mich App 149 (1997) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Michigan Model Civil Jury Instructions (updated July 21, 2026): M Civ JI 8.01, 19.01, 19.05, 19.06 and 50.04 · Michigan Supreme Court, Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions
- Michigan Court Rules (updated July 31, 2026): MCR 2.302(B)(5), 2.305, 2.310, 2.313(D) and 8.121 · Michigan Supreme Court
- MCL 600.2959, Comparative fault; reduced damages · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2955a, Impairment by alcohol or a controlled substance as an absolute defense · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5805, Injuries to persons or property; period of limitations · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5851, Claims by minors and people unable to understand their rights · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5856, Tolling of statute of limitations or repose · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.6431, Court of Claims; notice of a claim against the State · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 554.139, Residential leases; covenants of fitness and repair · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 554.583, Trespass liability act: duty of care to trespassers · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 691.1402, Highway exception to governmental immunity · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 691.1402a, Municipal sidewalks; the 2-inch rule · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 691.1403, Defective highways; knowledge of the defect · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 691.1404, Notice of injury and defect in a highway · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 691.1406, Public buildings; dangerous condition; notice · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 691.1407, Governmental immunity from tort liability · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 691.1411, Claims against government agencies; limitation of actions · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 418.131, Workers' compensation as the exclusive remedy · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 418.827, Third-party liability · Michigan Legislature
- Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34, Producing documents and tangible things · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, Subpoena · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Comparative negligence (Wex legal dictionary) · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Release (Wex legal dictionary) · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- RCW 4.22.005, Effect of contributory fault · Washington State Legislature
- K.S.A. 60-258a, Comparative negligence · Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.33, Contributory fault effect on right to recover · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia (Md. Court of Appeals, July 9, 2013) · Maryland Judiciary
- Armstrong v. Best Buy Co., 99 Ohio St.3d 79, 2003-Ohio-2573 · Supreme Court of Ohio
- Rowland v. Christian, 69 Cal.2d 108 (1968) · Supreme Court of California, via Stanford Law School (SCOCAL)
- Basso v Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976) · New York Court of Appeals, via the New York State Law Reporting Bureau
- California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, Two-year limit for injury actions · California Legislative Information
- California Government Code § 911.2, Time to present claims against public entities · California Legislative Information
- 28 U.S.C. § 2401, Time for commencing action against United States · Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
- 28 U.S.C. § 2675, Disposition by federal agency as prerequisite · Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
Updated September 27, 2026
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.