If you have been injured after slipping on ice, you may be entitled to compensation if you can prove someone else was to blame.
Ice carries an inherent risk of injury from a slip, trip or fall. To succeed in a personal injury claim for an accident involving ice, you must prove that your accident would not have happened if another person had acted as they were obliged to by law. Doing this can be an uphill struggle.
For example, local authorities have a duty to ensure pavements are safe to use. However, this duty is not absolute. It would be impractical to expect them to keep every road within their area entirely free from snow and ice. So, unless exceptional circumstances exist, any claim against a local authority will likely fail.
Proving liability can be similarly tricky if the accident occurred on private land. Say, for example, you slipped on ice in a supermarket car park. To claim against the supermarket, you would need to prove there was a clear risk of injury that the supermarket should have taken steps to mitigate. Whilst ice clearly poses a risk, the supermarket cannot be expected to keep their car park consistently ice and snow free.
Proving third-party liability for slipping on ice is often more straightforward when the accident happened at work. Your employer owes you a duty of care to ensure your workplace is safe, which includes anywhere you visit as part of your employment. When conditions are icy, this can involve gritting entrances, car parks and walkways, erecting warning signs and providing appropriate footwear. If your employer fails to take all reasonable measures, and you are injured as a result, you may be entitled to compensation.