Massachusetts Personal Injury and Workers' Compensation Law Blog
It is not easy to have success with a snow and ice, slip and fall claim in Massachusetts. The reason is that you have to show there was an "unnatural accumulation" of snow and ice that caused your accident. There are three ways under Massachusetts law to show an "unnatural accumulation" of snow and ice. They are:
1) That the premises owner somehow moved the snow and/or ice to a different location of the property and therefore created an "unnatural accumulation";
2) That the premises owner had a gutter or canopy or other man-made device on the property which somehow affected or altered the flow and creation of snow and/or ice on the property, or;
3) That a constant stream of people walked over and onto the snow and/or ice converting it from a natural accumulation into an "unnatural accumulation."
If you or your personal injury lawyer can somehow satisfy one of these elements, then your Massachusetts snow and ice, slip and fall case may have a leg to stand on. Please note, also, that these elements do not apply in the landlord/tenant context. It is generally easier to win a slip and fall on snow and/or ice case in Massachusetts when you are bringing the claim against a landlord for failure to clear snow and ice from the subject property.