Who’s liable for clearing icy sidewalks?
From skiing to sledding, many Central Oregonians have been enjoying the perks of living in a snowy city, but with those perks comes responsibility. Snow and ice creates an increase in falling cases. There have been a large number of reported falls in one Bend shopping center.
Pam Powell said she watched three people slip on ice one day this week in front of the Barnes & Noble in the Forum Shopping Center.
“There was a teenager that slipped — at first I thought he was fooling around like kids do, but he wasn’t. He fell down,” Powell explained.
She said she was worried as she watched one person after another struggle to walk across the sidewalk in the busy shopping center. “What about elderly people, I thought? Anybody could slip and fall and have severe head injury,” Powell said.
After analyzing the situation, Powell realized that the drain pipe from the roof was leaving a puddle of water on the sidewalk. The water then froze and was dusted with snow, making it hard to see and causing a slipping hazard.
Powell said she spoke with a Barnes & Noble employee, who pointed her to the mall’s management company. When she reached out to the company, she said they told her, “Yeah, well –, we’ll get around to it.” She said their response was unsatisfactory, so she called the city.
Bend Assistant City Attorney Gary Firestone said, “For parking lots — those are typically on private property. And the city, they don’t typically get involved with those. Its the property owner’s responsibility.”
When it comes to the law in Bend, commercial properties have six hours after daylight to remove snow and residential properties have 24 hours after snowfall.
The city attorney emphasized how important it is that people do their part to clean off the sidewalks. If someone ends up getting hurt as a result of snow on your sidewalk, you could get sued.
“Typically, people can go after anyone they can. My experience as a lawyer is that people will sue anybody. and lawyers will find who’s responsible,” said Firestone.
The city reminded businesses and residents to keep Bend pedestrian-friendly this winter.
