With the season’s first snowflakes already fallen in the Chicagoland area, snow and ice removal contractors are surely gearing up to meet the demands of another winter. In addition to addressing equipment and staffing concerns, now is also the time to review the written agreements you have in place that govern these services. This is because a recent decision of out of the Illinois First District Appellate Court holds that a snow and ice removal contractor’s liability for personal injuries can now turn on the terms included in the contract.
The longstanding rule in Illinois had been that a snow and ice removal contractor can only be liable to an injured person who can show that their injury was caused by an “unnatural accumulation” of snow or ice. This rule makes sense – we all know there are times when Mother Nature laughs at even the most conscientious and aggressive snow and ice cleaning. Despite best efforts, sometimes snow keeps falling, melts, freezes, or otherwise causes naturally occurring slippery conditions. There are times when no surface can ever be 100% free of naturally falling snow or freezing ice. The former prevailing rule was that only those contractors who created unnatural accumulations of snow or ice – poorly placed snow mounds, crushed or compacted snow or ice, etc. – which caused injury on the properties they maintain, could be liable to injured plaintiffs.
However, the court in Mickens v. CPS Chicago Parking, LLC 2019 IL App (1st) 180156, has ruled that the “natural accumulation” exception to snow and ice removal contractor liability should...
