By John Megjugorac

As you may know, New Jersey imposes upon commercial landowners a duty to reasonably maintain the sidewalks abutting their property.  Courts often look at whether the property should be classified as residential or commercial.  Accidents that occur on sidewalks abutting residential property present substantial burdens on plaintiff.  This is because as a matter of law a residential landowner does not have a duty to reasonably maintain their sidewalks.

There are some exceptions to this general rule.  One of the main exceptions is that residential landowners have a duty to refrain from affirmative conduct that results in increased hazards on the sidewalk.  One example of this is where a residential landowner plants a tree and over time the tree roots causes a upraised sidewalk slab.  Another example that could subject a residential landowner to sidewalk liability is where the residential landowner negligently performs construction on the sidewalk itself.

In your typical snow and ice sidewalk slip and fall case, a residential landowner does not have a duty to remove snow and ice.  If a property owner decided to remove snow or ice from the abutting sidewalk, the residential property owner would not be liable to a person who injured himself on the sidewalk “unless through [the owner’s] negligence a new element of danger or hazard, other than one caused by natural forces, [was] added to the safe use of the sidewalk by a pedestrian.” Saco v. Hall, 1 N.J. 377, 381, 63 A.2d 887 (1949).  This means, if a sidewalk had been cleared and the melting snow or ice subsequently froze into a layer of ice, the “refreeze” would not be an “element of danger or hazard other than one caused by natural forces.”  In these situations, a plaintiff would not have a recoverable claim against the defendant.

If you are a victim of a slip and fall accident, its best to contact an attorney so that your claim can be properly be evaluated.