To shovel the sidewalk, or not to; City attorneys weigh in

Do you shovel your sidewalk, so kids can walk to school without walking in the street, or do you not, to avoid a potential lawsuit if someone slips on a shoveled sidewalk?

Maplewood and Brentwood city attorneys commented on the question of liability and snowy sidewalks.

Brentwood city attorney Frank Albrecht didn’t encourage not shoveling. He said the cases are fact-sensitive and all over the place, and for the most part, that’s what home owner’s insurance is for.

“The argument for not shoveling, is it’s an apparent hazard, and people are presumed to be required to take caution,” he said. “Whereas if you shovel it and you don’t salt or do anything, people don’t always see the ice.”

Albrecht said there’s a rule of thumb that says if you’re going to shovel, you’ve got to take reasonable steps to make sure that it’s free from ice.

He said the bottom line is do what’s reasonable in the circumstances, which is really the ultimate test, and keep your home owner’s insurance paid up.

Maplewood city attorney Craig Biesterfeld said it’s similar to doing something in a negligent manner on another part of your property which causes injury that might result in some potential liability, but if you hadn’t done anything, it wouldn’t.

“I know there is some case law on that topic, and I think what it boils down to, the theory is, is that if you shovel the sidewalk in a manner that it becomes hazardous, you end up having some liability because of that, but I haven’t really looked at the cases to see exactly what they say,” he said.

By the way, 40 South News has no position on whether to shovel or not to shovel your walk. That’s up to you!