A Major Shift in Michigan Premises Liability
Whether you are shopping at a local grocery store, walking through a retail mall, or visiting a commercial office building in Metro Detroit, you have a reasonable expectation that the property owner keeps their walkways safe. However, hazardous conditions—such as freshly mopped floors without warning signs, spilled liquids in aisles, leaking refrigeration units, or broken entry steps—cause thousands of severe fall injuries across Michigan every year.
For nearly two decades, injured shoppers faced an uphill battle due to Michigan’s harsh legal interpretation of the "Open and Obvious" defense. Property owners routinely escaped accountability simply by arguing that an average person should have seen the hazard and avoided it. However, landmark decisions by the Michigan Supreme Court (including Kandil-Elsayed v. F&E Oil, Inc.) completely reshaped state premises liability law, giving injured victims a fair day in court.
Understanding Your Legal Status: Invitees vs. Licensees
Under Michigan premises liability principles, the duty a property owner owes you depends on your legal classification when you enter the property:
- Invitee: A customer entering a retail store or commercial business for the economic benefit of the owner. Business owners owe invitees the highest duty of care—they must inspect the premises, repair dangerous conditions, and warn visitors of hidden hazards.
- Licensee: A social guest visiting private property. Property owners must warn licensees of known hidden dangers, but do not necessarily have an ongoing duty to inspect the property for unknown hazards.
- Trespasser: Someone entering property without permission. Landowners generally only owe a duty to refrain from causing willful or wanton injury.
How the Elimination of the 'Open and Obvious' Bar Helps Victims
Under current Michigan law, the fact that a hazard was visible (open and obvious) is no longer a total bar to bringing a lawsuit. Instead, whether a danger was obvious is evaluated under Comparative Fault principles.
This means that even if a puddle or torn carpet was visible, the store owner is still legally obligated to maintain reasonably safe conditions. If the jury finds that both the business owner was negligent in leaving the hazard and the customer failed to see it, the customer can still recover damages reduced proportionally by their percentage of fault—as long as their fault is not greater than 50% for non-economic damages.
Crucial Evidence Needed to Prove Store Negligence
To win a commercial slip and fall case, you must prove that the business had actual or constructive notice of the hazard—meaning they either created the danger, knew it existed, or that the hazard was present long enough that a reasonable staff should have discovered and cleaned it up.
At Shiraz Law Firm, we move quickly to secure critical evidence after a slip and fall crash: requesting store surveillance footage before it is looped over, obtaining store sweep logs and employee shift schedules, taking precise measurements of the defect, and gathering eyewitness statements. If you have been injured on commercial property in Michigan, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
