New Jersey's Snow and Ice Removal Laws: What Commercial Property Owners and Operators Must Do Following a Winter Storm Event

Winter storms in New Jersey can create hazardous conditions on roadways, sidewalks, parking lots, and building entrances. Accidents involving snow and ice accumulations can lead to serious injuries such as broken bones and joint injuries, oftentimes resulting in surgeries and substantial financial losses to accident victims and their families.

While the laws of New Jersey distinguish between the obligations of commercial and residential property owners, the owners and operators of commercial properties in our state have a legal obligation to address snow and ice conditions on their property within a reasonable amount of time following the conclusion of a winter storm event.

Commercial property owners must not only act reasonably in addressing snow and ice conditions, but they must likewise avoid taking any actions which would either create dangerous conditions or otherwise make an existing condition worse.

While the obligations of residential property owners may, in some situations, be less stringent than those of commercial property owners, residential property owners must likewise refrain from creating additional hazards or otherwise making existing weather-related conditions worse.

In order to be eligible to recover damages, injured victims have the burden of proving that the owner or operator of the property was negligent. Negligence is defined as the failure to act as a reasonably prudent person would have acted when faced with the same or similar circumstances. Not only must the defendant have been negligent, but their negligence must have likewise been a proximate cause of the accident.

Not all lawyers have the background, training, or experience to successfully handle weather-related accident cases involving the presence of snow or ice. Our experienced premises liability lawyers at Levinson Axelrod can provide legal support after the accident. We can investigate the accident, gather evidence, and pursue compensation from the negligent property owner or operator on your behalf. We have years of experience representing accident victims.

Property Owner Ice Removal Requirements

In New Jersey, the owners and operators of commercial properties have a legal obligation to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition, particularly after accumulations of snow or ice.

These duties are oftentimes referred to as being non-delegable in nature, and the failure of contractors to properly carry out these responsibilities may result in the imposition of liability on the property owner or operator who hired them. This can include property managers, snow removal contractors, or other entities involved in the inspection or maintenance process.

Legal Obligations and Reasonable Timeframe Expectations

New Jersey laws, commonly referred to as NJ Snow Removal Law, generally require that property owners and operators remove snow and ice within a reasonable timeframe after a winter storm event has concluded.

While each municipality may adopt ordinances setting forth their own timeframes by which snow and/or ice conditions must be addressed, these ordinances generally apply to municipal liability rather than civil liability.

Civil liability of commercial property owners, otherwise known as financial responsibility for personal injuries, is generally based upon a reasonable person standard rather than solely upon a town’s municipal ordinance.

In evaluating the reasonableness of a property owner’s actions, the nature and use of the property oftentimes plays a significant role. Operators of commercial areas such as retail stores, apartment buildings, or other high-traffic areas may have to do more in order to meet their standard of care than those of more remote, less traveled areas.

Ongoing Maintenance Requirements

Property owners cannot rely solely on initial snow removal or a one-time application of salt or ice melt in order to meet their legal obligations. Industry standards emphasize repeated inspections, ongoing monitoring, and treatment of snow and ice conditions as temperatures fluctuate.

Water from melting snow piles can run onto walking surfaces, refreeze, and thereby create recurring hazardous conditions.

Maintaining safe walking surfaces requires ongoing vigilance, as well as repeated salting, plowing, and/or clearing as conditions change, particularly for commercial property areas such as sidewalks, steps, ramps, and parking lots.

The Inadequacy of One-Time Salting and Black Ice

Simply spreading salt or ice melt once is oftentimes insufficient to effectively address melting and refreezing conditions.

Snow that melts during the day may refreeze overnight, thereby forming extremely dangerous black ice conditions which may be much harder for drivers or pedestrians to see than the ice which was originally present during the daytime. Black ice is extremely slippery and oftentimes mistakenly confused with wet conditions.

Property owners who fail to address melting and refreezing conditions, or simply do not reapply salt or ice melt when needed, may be found legally responsible if someone is injured on their property. Proactive inspection and monitoring of their property, as well as repeated assessments and treatment, is often required in order to prevent foreseeable accidents.

Municipal and State Ordinance Violations

New Jersey municipalities can adopt their own ordinances, which may vary in enforcement, required timelines, and standards for different property types.

Some towns may enact statutes requiring that sidewalks be cleared before morning traffic or store opening hours, while other townships may enact different laws affording property owners a much larger timeframe in which to address snow and ice conditions.

Additionally, the State of New Jersey has adopted the New Jersey Administrative Code, which sets forth additional requirements for the owners and operators of multiple dwelling units, such as apartments and condominiums.

Understanding these obligations under New Jersey law is not only essential in order to properly maintain commercial and residential properties, but also to protect people who come onto those properties.

Under the laws of New Jersey, the duty owed to people who come onto a property oftentimes depends upon the purpose for which they have come onto the property. For instance, the law may distinguish between the duty owed by property owners to invitees, licensees, or trespassers.

Knowledge of these laws and regulations is likewise important in order to know what your legal rights are in case you are injured due to the presence of snow or ice conditions.

Our experienced premises liability attorneys at Levinson Axelrod can investigate the facts of your accident in order to determine whether or not you may be eligible for compensation for your accident-related injuries.

How to Prove Property Owner Liability

In order to successfully bring a claim after a fall on snow or ice in New Jersey, the person bringing the claim (otherwise known as the plaintiff) has the burden of proving that the owner or operator of the property was negligent, and that the owner or operator’s negligence was a proximate cause of their accident and injuries.

To hold a property owner or operator liable, it must be shown that they failed to meet their legal duty to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition.

In addition to the owner and/or operator of the property, other entities such as snow removal contractors may also be liable for their injuries.

Addressing Common Defenses

Property owners will oftentimes raise defenses like "we salted it" or "we didn't know that the ice was there" in order to attempt to avoid responsibility for their negligent actions.

Courts, however, require that property owners take reasonable steps to prevent accidents, including timely snow and ice removal, repeated treatment and salting, as well as ongoing inspections, in order to properly protect individuals who come onto their property.

Winter is not an excuse, and there is a legal difference between excuses and defenses when it comes to winter weather conditions.

Claiming ignorance or attempting to rely upon a one-time salting is generally insufficient to absolve property owners and operators of their legal responsibilities, especially when unreasonably hazardous conditions persisted and were foreseeable.

Proving Fault in Snow and Ice Accidents

Proving fault in accidents involving snow and/or ice helps to build a successful liability claim against the negligent property owner.

Our premises liability attorneys use a variety of different types of evidence in order to prove that the property owner or operator failed to meet their legal duties under applicable snow and ice removal laws and regulations.

Here are examples of various types of evidence they can use in order to help establish liability and fault:

• Photographs and Video Recordings:
  Our premises liability attorneys can use photographs and video recordings in order to document the condition of icy sidewalks, parking lots, and entrances at the time of your accident in order to show untreated or hazardous areas. These images can be extremely helpful in proving negligence and establishing a successful case.
• Weather Reports:
  Official snowfall and temperature data, as well as meteorologists’ reports, can help document a winter storm's timeline, as well as prove when snow or ice should have been cleared, demonstrating negligence in delayed removal cases.
• Maintenance Logs:
  Reviewing a defendant’s snow removal logs, salting records, and work orders can oftentimes reveal lapses in routine winter maintenance or ignored obligations.
• Witness Statements:
  Our premises liability lawyers can use testimony from pedestrians, tenants, or even the defendant’s own employees in order to establish that unsafe winter conditions, such as icy conditions, were not only allowed to develop untreated but were likewise permitted to persist for extended periods of time.
• Expert Analysis:
  Expert witnesses are often used in order to establish what the accepted standard of care is in the industry, as well as whether or not the actions of the property owner or operator complied with that standard. Accident reconstruction, human factors, and biomechanical experts can also help explain how and why a hazardous condition, such as snow or ice, contributed directly to the occurrence of a weather-related accident.

Contact Our New Jersey Premises Liability Attorneys Today

In New Jersey, property owners and operators have a legal obligation to maintain their properties in a reasonably safe condition following winter storm events.

Failure to promptly address snow and ice, monitor melting and refreezing conditions, or otherwise act reasonably in the manner in which they own or operate their property may make them liable for slip and fall accidents and injuries.

Should you have any questions about property owner or operator liability after a fall, please feel free to contact us.

Consultations are always free at njlawyers.com or call 1-800-XXX-XXXX.