Legal Question in Personal Injury in Maryland
My Father recently fell on black ice in the parking lot of his Towson apartment complex. He has been asking for several years for a new spot that isnt in the shade. His hospital and rehab expenses are going to be severe, he broke both his hip and shoulder. Do I have a neglagence case against the current management company?
1 Answer from Attorneys
These are very difficult cases to win. To do so, your father must prove that the property managers or those responsible for maintaining the parking lot knew that the black ice was present before your father fell and failed to remove it or make it safe, or at least that they should have been aware of it. The fact that your father had been complaining about it before might satisfy this burden, especially if the particular patch he fell in had a history of icing over during bad weather. On the other hand, since your father was also well aware of the danger of the area, the other side would argue that he was also negligent in trying to traverse the dangerous area, a defense known as contributory negligence. Your father's counter argument would be that he had to park in that area and thus had no choice but to try and navigate over it, and he was doing everything possible to walk carefully over it.