Bountiful Slip and Fall Lawyer

Bountiful climbs from the freeway up the east bench, and the grade shows up in its fall claims. Sloped parking lots, steep residential driveways and exterior stairs shed meltwater that freezes overnight. Downtown Main Street, with its older storefronts, churches and shops, adds narrow entrances and aging sidewalks to the mix.

Bountiful's streets page states that it is unlawful to blow, shovel or plow snow from private property onto a public street or right of way in a way that creates a hazard for vehicles or pedestrians (Bountiful City Streets). A neighbor or business that piled snow onto the sidewalk where you slipped may have broken that rule, which can help show carelessness.

Proving a Bountiful Fall

A fall claim needs proof of a dangerous condition, proof that the owner or manager knew or should have known about it in time to fix it, and proof that it caused your injury.

On sloped properties, drainage matters. Photos showing where meltwater runs across a walk and refreezes, or where a downspout empties onto it, can show that ice in that spot was predictable. At a business, ask in writing for an incident report and for the video to be preserved.

The Owner's Legal Duty

Utah law sets the duty according to why you were on the property:

• Business customers and tenants are owed a reasonable inspection and repair of hazards, or at least a warning.
• Personal guests are entitled to a warning about hazards the owner is aware of.
• Trespassers are owed minimal care.

Owners frequently say a hazard was obvious. That point can reduce a recovery, but it does not end a claim when the owner should have expected visitors to use that path anyway, such as a sloped walk that is the only way to the door.

Your share of fault. Utah Code § 78B-5-818 allows recovery only if the defendants' combined fault is greater than yours, and it reduces the award by your percentage. On Bountiful's slopes, expect questions about your footwear and why you took a particular route.

Deadlines. Claims against private owners generally allow four years. For a fall on Bountiful City property, such as a city sidewalk or Bountiful Town Square, or on Davis County property, a written notice of claim is due within one year (§ 63G-7-402). Our deadline page lists them all.

Where Bountiful Falls Happen

Downtown Main Street between 500 South and 400 North, where older entrances, curb transitions and on-street parking put pedestrians next to snowbanks and slick gutters.

Grocery stores and shopping driveways along 500 South and 400 North, where entry mats, dropped produce and parking-lot ice are the usual questions.

Homes and rentals on the east bench, where steep driveways and stairs make ice more dangerous, and public spaces such as Bountiful Town Square, where the one-year notice applies. For a crash, see our Bountiful car accident page; for other injuries, our Bountiful personal injury page.

Hazards We See in Bountiful

Refrozen runoff on sloped walks, ice below downspouts, snow pushed onto sidewalks, cracked or heaved concrete, unlit exterior stairs, and wet floors at store entrances.

Fall Injuries

Hard falls often mean fractured wrists and hips, broken ankles, rotator cuff tears and head injuries. Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful is a Level III trauma center with a 24-hour emergency department.

Compensation in Fall Cases

• Financial: medical care, rehab, lost wages and lost earning capacity.
• Personal: pain, anxiety about walking outside, and lost time with family and favorite activities.
• Long-term: future treatment and changes to your home when an injury is permanent.

What Bountiful Property Insurers Argue

They argue the ice formed after the last check, that you should have used the handrail, or that snow was the tenant's job. Weather data, photos of drainage and written complaints to the owner help answer. A Bountiful fall lawsuit is filed in the Second Judicial District Court in Farmington, 800 West State Street, which serves Davis County. See our Utah slip and fall guide and the steps in a Utah injury case.