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Slip and Fall
Property owners in Massachusetts have a duty of reasonable care to keep premises safe for lawful visitors. If you fell on someone else's property, you may have a premises-liability claim.
The short answer
Massachusetts property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to all lawful visitors after the 1973 Mounsey v. Ellard ruling. To win a slip-and-fall claim you must show the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to address it. Snow and ice cases are subject to the 2010 Papadopoulos rule, which removed the old natural accumulation defense. Jim Glaser Law has represented Massachusetts slip-and-fall claimants since 1995. Slip-and-fall matters are accepted on contingency.
What does Slip and Fall law cover in Massachusetts?
Property owners in Massachusetts have a duty of reasonable care to keep premises safe for lawful visitors. If you fell on someone else's property, you may have a premises-liability claim.
Cases of this kind have been handled by Jim Glaser Law in Massachusetts since 1995. The first telephone consultation is offered without charge. For matters Jim Glaser Law accepts on contingency, no attorney's fee is owed unless and until the matter resolves with a recovery to the client; case-related costs and expenses are addressed in the written fee agreement.
Cities we cover
Each Massachusetts city below has a dedicated entry that localizes the slip and fall rule and names the relevant courthouses.
- Boston Suffolk Co.
- Worcester Worcester Co.
- Springfield Hampden Co.
- Cambridge Middlesex Co.
- Lowell Middlesex Co.
- Brockton Plymouth Co.
- Quincy Norfolk Co.
- Lynn Essex Co.
- New Bedford Bristol Co.
- Fall River Bristol Co.
- Newton Middlesex Co.
- Lawrence Essex Co.
- Somerville Middlesex Co.
- Framingham Middlesex Co.
- Haverhill Essex Co.
- Waltham Middlesex Co.
- Malden Middlesex Co.
- Brookline Norfolk Co.
- Plymouth Plymouth Co.
- Medford Middlesex Co.
- Taunton Bristol Co.
- Chicopee Hampden Co.
- Weymouth Norfolk Co.
- Revere Suffolk Co.
- Peabody Essex Co.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the deadline to file a slip-and-fall claim in Massachusetts?
Three years from the date of the fall under M.G.L. c. 260 § 2A. Property-owner notice issues can shorten functional deadlines, so early evaluation matters.
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Does the snowstorm rule still protect property owners?
No. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court abolished the natural-accumulation rule in Papadopoulos v. Target, 457 Mass. 368 (2010). Owners owe a reasonable-care duty for snow and ice the same as for any other hazard.
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What evidence matters most in a slip-and-fall case?
Photographs of the hazard, the incident report (or its absence), prior complaints, weather records for the relevant date and location, and contemporaneous medical records.
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Do I have a case if I was partly at fault?
Possibly. Massachusetts uses modified comparative negligence under M.G.L. c. 231 § 85. Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault and barred entirely if you are more than 50 percent at fault.
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What does it cost to have Jim Glaser Law evaluate my case?
Nothing. The first telephone consultation is free. Slip-and-fall cases are typically accepted on contingency.
This entry constitutes legal information, not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Attorney advertising under Mass. R. Prof. C. 7.1 to 7.5. Responsible attorney: Jim Glaser, Massachusetts.