Slip & Fall

[caylin68]

In the States of Illinois & Iowa - if you slip and fall - say on snow/ice on your employer's parking lot or sidewalk, is this compensable? They are sending out emails to be careful upon entering and leaving the building and emphasizing "INJURIES WOULD BE COSTLY TO YOU".

[1171]

There is no one answer. It depends on current caselaw.
In many situations it may depend on who owns and maintains the parking lot and sidewalks.

[capricorn]

Hi caylin....I slipped and fell in employers parking lot a few years ago. Suffered a nasty concussion that I worked with for 3 months because their Dr. would not put me out of work but also would not let me drive. LOL. Go figure. Employer owned parking lot so it was a WC case. They paid my medical but since I missed no time from work I don't know how it would have played out. Do yourself a favor. Get checked out thoroughly. I kept telling the Dr. my neck hurt and she kept tellin g me it was muscle and would ease up (which it did) BUT within 18 months I started to have horrible neck problems. Never related the two. My neck is a mess and maybe could have been stopped from such progression had it been treated when injured. Good luck.

CAP

[Pooh]

caylin

I think 1171 has said it right in a way - however, I think the responsibility also comes down to who owns the property and is ultimately responsible for having the sidewalks and parking lots cleared for the safety of their workers.

I have seen some companies cover it under WC in iowa just because if they didn't it opens them up to a lawsuit for not properly maintaining the property to keep it safe for their employees - i.e. civil suit. So to by-pass the lawsuit they will cover a person under WC if they can prove that it happened because of ice, etc. However, in a parking lot - on the same side - if your car is hit by another employees car then your insurance is the one that is to handle the problem because then they may classify it private property etc. So it really depends on the type of accident. Vehicle accidents - private insurance - personal slips and falls could go either way depending on the company.