Ice and Snow Slip and Fall Claims in Louisville, Kentucky

Reviewed by Larry Forman, Attorney

Louisville winters don't bring much snow, but they bring plenty of ice: freezing rain, overnight refreezes and slush that turns hard by evening. For decades, Kentucky property owners could usually get an ice and snow slip and fall case thrown out by arguing that ice is natural and obvious. That changed in 2015. Today the question is whether the owner acted reasonably, and that's usually a question for a jury.

This page explains how Kentucky law treats winter falls now, what property owners are expected to do, who may be responsible, and the evidence that matters. For falls of every kind, see our main slip and fall page.

How Kentucky law used to treat ice and snow

In Standard Oil Co. v. Manis (1968), Kentucky's highest court adopted a no-duty rule: natural outdoor hazards that are as obvious to a visitor as to the owner weren't "unreasonable risks" that the owner had to remove or warn about. In 2000, PNC Bank v. Green applied that rule to an icy bank sidewalk and upheld judgment for the bank.

That rule came from the era of contributory negligence, when any fault by the injured person barred recovery entirely. Kentucky moved to comparative fault in 1984, and the legislature codified it in 1988 (KRS 411.182).

How Kentucky handles an ice and snow slip and fall today

The Kentucky Supreme Court rebuilt the "open and obvious" rules in three steps:

• Kentucky River Medical Center v. McIntosh (2010): obviousness doesn't automatically excuse an owner. It's generally weighed when comparing fault.
• Shelton v. Kentucky Easter Seals Society (2013): a landowner's general duty of reasonable care doesn't disappear because a hazard is obvious. Foreseeability is part of the breach question, normally for the jury.
• Carter v. Bullitt Host, LLC (2015): a hotel guest slipped on ice in the hotel's covered entrance. The Court held that the Manis rule "is no longer viable" and that "all open and obvious hazard cases, including obvious natural outdoor hazard cases, are subject to the comparative fault doctrine" (471 S.W.3d 288).

What that means for you: a property owner can't win just by saying "everyone knows ice is slippery." Under Carter, as the Supreme Court later restated in Grubb v. Smith (2017), dismissal is reserved for rare cases, such as when the injured person's own conduct was clearly the only cause, or when it's beyond dispute that the owner did everything reasonable.

An owner still isn't an insurer of everyone's safety. You have to show the owner fell short of reasonable care, and your own care is part of the comparison.

What "reasonable care" looks like during and after a storm

There's no fixed checklist. Juries look at the circumstances, including:

• Timing. Whether the storm was still going, how long it had been over, and whether temperatures caused a refreeze. A fall in the middle of a storm is judged differently than one after hours or days of inaction.
• What they actually did. Plowing, shoveling, salting, re-salting after refreezes, closing off icy entrances, and putting out mats and warning signs.
• The type of property. A hotel, hospital, grocery store or apartment complex expects heavy foot traffic, and people often have no real choice but to walk through.
• Lighting. Black ice in a dark lot is harder to see and avoid.
• Routes. Whether the owner cleared the path people actually use, not just the front door.

An unpublished 2024 Court of Appeals decision shows how this plays out. In Boyd v. Tates Creek Crossings, an apartment tenant slipped several days after a storm. The landlord's contractor had cleared and salted several times, but ice remained on the tenant's likely path to her car, and she cut across snowy grass to avoid it. The court sent the case back for trial. Whether the landlord did enough, and whether her shortcut was foreseeable, were questions for a jury.

Ice the owner created or made worse

Some of the strongest winter cases involve ice the property itself produced:

• Downspouts or gutters draining across walkways, where the water refreezes overnight
• Plowed snow piled uphill of a walkway, melting by day and freezing by night
• Leaking awnings, sprinklers or poor drainage creating ice in the same spot every winter
• Partial clearing that leaves a thin, hard-packed layer that's harder to see than fresh snow

Repeated ice at the same spot, and prior complaints about it, help show the owner knew and didn't act.

Who can be responsible for an icy fall

• Property owners, including businesses, hotels, hospitals, churches and office buildings.
• Landlords and property managers for common areas like walkways, stairs and parking lots. In Boyd, the tenant was treated as an invitee of the complex.
• Snow-removal contractors who were hired to clear and salt and didn't do it properly. Hiring a contractor doesn't automatically excuse the owner. Boyd relied on Grubb v. Smith for the owner's duty to keep the premises reasonably safe.
• Commercial tenants that control their own entrances.

Falls in parking lots often involve both the lot owner and a contractor. See parking lot accidents. If you fell at a workplace you don't work for, see third-party workplace injuries.

Sidewalks and public property in Louisville

Louisville's snow ordinance. Louisville Metro Code § 97.113 says people and businesses that own or occupy property along a public street must remove snow from the sidewalk in front of it within 24 hours after it falls (LMCO § 97.113). Whether a violation helps a particular injury claim isn't settled. We evaluate it case by case, alongside the owner's other conduct.

Government property. Claims against a local government face immunity questions and short notice rules. For example, KRS 411.110 requires notice within 90 days for injuries from defective city sidewalks and streets (KRS 411.110), and it may come up depending on who controls the spot. Claims against state agencies go to the Kentucky Board of Claims, generally within one year (KRS 49.120).

Your own share of fault

Insurers will point to your shoes, your phone, your speed or a shortcut. Under Kentucky's pure comparative fault rule, your share of fault reduces your recovery but doesn't bar it. That's true even if you knew the ice was there, especially when you had no reasonable way around it.

Evidence that matters in winter falls

Ice melts and refreezes, sometimes within hours, so the evidence disappears faster than in almost any other fall case.

• Photos and video right away: the ice, the surrounding area, any salt or lack of it, lighting, downspouts, and your footwear
• Weather records for the days before the fall: when precipitation stopped and the temperatures overnight
• Snow-removal records: contracts, logs, invoices and salt deliveries
• Incident reports, witness names, and security or doorbell video
• Prior complaints about the same spot

Send preservation requests early. See evidence to preserve after an accident and insurance adjuster tactics.

Common injuries from falls on ice

Falls on ice often happen backward or sideways, with no time to brace. We regularly see wrist, hip and ankle fractures, head injuries, back and disc injuries, and knee and shoulder injuries. For how damages are valued, see Kentucky personal injury case value.

Deadlines

Most Kentucky premises claims must be filed within one year of the fall (KRS 413.140). Government claims can require notice far sooner. See our statute of limitations guide.

How Forman & Associates handles ice and snow cases

• Send preservation letters for video, snow logs and contracts
• Pull weather data to build the storm timeline
• Identify every responsible party: owner, manager, tenant, contractor
• Handle medical bills, liens and insurers
• File suit when insurers won't be fair. Larry Forman has tried 50+ jury trials and won 95% of them.

Learn more about Larry Forman, see our case results (past results don't guarantee a similar outcome), or read about premises liability generally.

Ice and snow fall FAQs

Can I sue if I slipped on ice in Kentucky?

Possibly. Since Carter v. Bullitt Host (2015), natural ice and snow are no longer an automatic defense. The question is whether the owner acted reasonably, and any fault on your part is compared.

Does a property owner have to clear ice while it's still snowing?

Kentucky has no fixed rule. The question is what was reasonable, and timing matters. A fall in the middle of a storm is viewed differently than one after hours or days with no salting or clearing, or after a predictable refreeze.

I knew the ice was there. Can I still recover?

Often, yes. Knowing about a hazard may increase your share of fault, but under pure comparative fault it doesn't bar recovery, especially if there was no reasonable way around it.

Is my landlord responsible for ice in the parking lot?

Landlords and managers are generally responsible for common areas they control, like lots, walkways and stairs. Hiring a snow contractor doesn't automatically excuse them.

Who is responsible for an icy sidewalk in Louisville?

It depends on who owns and controls the spot. Louisville's code requires abutting owners or occupants to clear sidewalk snow within 24 hours, and claims involving government property have special notice rules.

How long do I have to file an ice slip and fall claim?

Generally one year from the fall under KRS 413.140. Claims involving government property can require written notice within 90 days or less, so act quickly.

Talk to a Louisville ice and snow slip and fall lawyer

The ice will melt. We'll make sure the evidence doesn't disappear with it. No fee unless we win. Get a free case evaluation or call (502) 931-6788. Our office is at 1139 S. 4th St., Louisville, KY 40203.

This page is general information about Kentucky law and Louisville ordinances as of October 2026, not legal advice.