Michigan Slip And Fall Lawsuit FAQs: What You Need To Know

You can sue for a slip and fall accident in Michigan if the owner or person responsible for maintaining the property was negligent and the property was unsafe. The laws are different in different states, but even in the states that have the toughest laws regarding suing for a slip and fall accident, you can always sue for a slip and fall accident that involves a dangerous condition or if the hazard that caused your injury was hidden or effectively unavoidable or unreasonably dangerous. As part of a slip and fall accident, you can sue to recover pain and suffering compensation and money to pay for incurred and future medical bills and lost wages and future economic loss.

In Michigan, to file a slip and fall lawsuit, you will need to: (1) hire an attorney to file the lawsuit, and preferably an experienced lawyer to ensure the highest likelihood of success in your case; (2) preserve and put on notice to preserve any potential defendant to not destroy evidence that may be needed to prove your case, such as surveillance video, photos, witness statements, or incident reports; (3) conduct discovery to gather evidence from negligent property owners and third parties that may share responsibility in allowing the dangerous condition to exist; and (4) file your case in the venue where your accident and injury occurred.

In Michigan, you can sue the negligent property owners and managers for three (3) years after a slip and fall. (MCL 600.5805(2)) If you don’t file a slip and fall lawsuit in Michigan within the three years, your claim will be time-barred and you will have lost your right to sue. There may also be additional notice requirements to comply with if your slip and fall involves a municipality or government building or fits within other exceptions where notice must be provided within a set prescribed period of time.

No matter what state your slip and fall accident occurs in, you should seek an immediate free consultation with an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to make sure you comply with the required statutes of limitations if you bring a lawsuit and to provide notice, if required.

Slip and fall cases are also very different from other types of personal injury cases in that most of the legal discovery should be done immediately, or as soon as possible after the accident. Legal discovery in slip and fall cases tends to occur mostly in the beginning and is very front-end heavy due to the critical need to preserve and document the hazard or dangerous condition as it existed at the time of the slip and fall accident.

In Michigan, the notice requirements that may apply to your slip and fall lawsuit include:

• 60-day notice of intent to sue for a slip and fall that occurs on a county road as a result of “a defective county road, bridge, or culvert under the jurisdiction of the board of county road commissioners.” (MCL 224.21(3))
• 120-day notice of intent to sue for a slip and fall that occurs as a result of a defective highway. (MCL 691.1404(1))
• 120-day notice of intent to sue for slip and fall that occurs as a result of “any dangerous or defective public building.” (MCL 691.1406)
• 6-month notice of intent to sue the State of Michigan for your slip and fall. (MCL 600.6431(1) and (4))

In Michigan, a slip and fall lawsuit could take one to two years to resolve. The factors that may affect how long it takes include: (1) how extensive the discovery process will be and the number of depositions required to be taken; (2) when the trial court sets the case evaluation and facilitation dates; (3) the dates for motion hearings; (4) the specific venue where the lawsuit is filed; (5) the docket and judge assigned to your case; and (6) the number of parties involved and the expected length of your case if it is scheduled for trial.

Settlements are often reached before a Michigan slip and fall lawsuit is required to be filed. A settlement that is made before a slip and fall lawsuit in Michigan takes much less time to resolve. It is not uncommon for the pre-lawsuit settlement for case to be successfully negotiated in six months to a year, depending on how complex the underlying injuries are and if the prognosis and residual impact of the injuries can be reasonably determined, as well as being able to quantify the incurred and future medical bills and lost wages and future economic losses.

In Michigan, to sue for a slip and fall accident, your attorney will need to: (1) identify the dangerous or hazardous condition with specificity; (2) gather evidence; (3) interview witnesses; (4) document the scene to explain why it was dangerous and could not be avoided, often through taking pictures or video; (5) and, comply with any required notice and statute of limitations requirements. 

Our attorneys have settled many cases for millions of dollars, but the specific amount of money that your own Michigan slip and fall lawsuit may be worth will depend on the specific facts of your case. The factors that affect how much your case may be worth include: (1) the nature and extent of your injuries; (2) how easy or difficult it will be to prove liability (negligence and fault) on the part of the parties being sued in your lawsuit; and (3) your attorney’s reputation, experience and track record and the insurance policy limits and assets of the parties that will be applicable in your lawsuit.

Let our Slip and Fall Settlement Calculator help you determine just how much your case may be worth.

We also encourage you to visit our Settlements page to see the types of settlements and verdicts that our attorneys have recovered for our clients.