Michigan Slip-and-Fall Injuries: What Evidence You Need to Win Your Case in 2025
Slip-and-fall injuries happen in a moment — a wet floor in a store, a poorly maintained stairwell in an apartment building, icy parking lot in Michigan winter. But success in a premises liability claim requires more than simply proving you fell. Michigan law recently changed in an important way: the long-standing “open and obvious” defense is no longer an automatic shield. Today, property owners must exercise reasonable care even when hazards are visible.
This article explains the evidence you should gather and the legal standards you must know to build a successful slip-and-fall case in Michigan.
Evidence of the Hazard — Photos, Video, and Documentation
Key proof includes:
- Clear photographs or video of the exact hazard (liquid spill, icy patch, broken tile, debris)
- The surrounding environment (lighting, footwear of other visitors, signage)
- Timing cues (how soon after the hazard appeared, how long it remained)
- Business or property records (e.g., cleaning logs, maintenance schedules)
Capturing evidence as soon as possible is critical — many stores overwrite video quickly.
Proof of Length of Time the Hazard Existed
Under Michigan premises liability law, you must show the property owner or occupier:
- Created the hazard, or
- Knew about it, or
- Should have known about it through reasonable inspection
Useful evidence: employee statements, cleaning logs, prior complaints, tracks in the hazard indicating it wasn’t brand new.
Incident and Business Documentation
Businesses often generate incident reports, supervisor memos, or maintenance work orders — all relevant. Requesting preservation letters early helps ensure the evidence remains available.
Medical Evidence Linking the Fall to Your Injuries
Insurers will challenge causation. To counter this, your records should include:
- Emergency or urgent care records
- Imaging (X-ray, MRI)
- Physical therapy notes
- Photographs of visible injuries
Prompt treatment strengthens your case.
Witness Statements
Witnesses can confirm how the fall happened, whether the hazard was obvious or had been there a while, what the lighting/conditions were like. These strengthen your claim and are particularly important now under Michigan’s updated law.
How Michigan’s “Open and Obvious” Doctrine Has Changed
For years, Michigan premises liability law allowed property owners to avoid liability if a hazard was “open and obvious” — meaning an average person with ordinary intelligence could have discovered it on casual inspection. (See Lugo v. Ameritech Corp., 464 Mich 512 (2001).)
But the law changed dramatically when the Michigan Supreme Court held in Kandil‑Elsayed v. F & E Oil, Inc. & Pinsky v. Kroger Co. of Michigan, 512 Mich 95 (2023), that the “open and obvious” condition no longer eliminates the duty element. Instead, whether a hazard was open and obvious is now considered within breach of duty and comparative fault — both issues for a jury.
In other words: Even if a hazard was visible, the property owner may still be liable if they failed to anticipate the harm or failed to take reasonable steps to guard against the hazard. This shift opens more avenues for injured persons to hold negligent property owners accountable in Michigan.
What You Should Do If You Were Injured
- Act immediately: photograph the hazard, get names of witnesses, seek medical care
- Preserve evidence: request the business preserve video and maintenance logs
- Avoid giving unsupervised statements to insurers
- Consult an attorney experienced in Michigan premises liability law
- Link your claim to your injuries and losses: medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering