Information from the County Attorney's Office
By Steven J. Franzen, Campbell County Attorney
Over the past few years, the Kentucky Supreme Court has made substantial changes to property owner’s liability as it applies to removing snow and ice from sidewalks and driveways. Previously there was no liability for property owners who took no action to clear their sidewalks and driveways. This is no longer the case.
In Kentucky, negligence actions, like slips and falls as a result of snow and ice, are determined based on comparative fault. Each party that may be responsible is attributed a percentage of the fault for the damage that occurred. This allows an injured person to recover even if that person is 99% at fault for injury to himself or herself.
For example, should you have a pothole in your sidewalk that is unseen because of snow and a person injures themselves as a result, you may be liable. Of course, you could still defend saying that the injured person is at fault because of not taking due care in the snow. Nonetheless, as the property owner, if you are found even 1% at fault, you may have to pay damages. Those damages however, would be based on the percentage of fault.
Lastly, property owners may also want to check local ordinances as more and more cities, such as Louisville, have adopted snow removal ordinances for sidewalks.
If you have any topics you would like to have covered in this column, please contact my office by e-mail at countyattorney@campbellcountyky.org, by phone at 491-7700 or by regular mail addressed to 319 York Street, Newport, Kentucky 41071.