Mark Bernstein of the locally famous Sam Bernstein Law Firm concedes that its tougher these days to take on a slip-and-fall lawsuit in Michigan.
"I have to turn cases down every single day" Bernstein tells Ed White of the Associated Press in a story published in the Detroit News. Bernstein says cases related to weather represent just 2 percent of his firm's work, compared to 20 percent in the 1990s.
AP reports that that these cases have becoming extremely difficult to win in Michigan, particularly since state a Supreme Court ruling last July involving an Upper Peninsula woman who fell and cracked a bone in her lower back while walking into a fitness club in Ironwood in 2006.
Ed White reports there was ice in the entrance, though the owners claim they salted the walk earlier in the day. The court has indicated there should not be a valid suit if someone can avoid the hazard. It also found landowners essentially can't be expected to address every potential problem.
