Michigan slip and fall claims: what to do, what changed

You slipped on a wet floor at a Michigan store, caught yourself wrong, and now your wrist or your back is telling you it was worse than embarrassing. Most people's first thought is some version of "it was my own fault" or "the spill was right there, I should have seen it." For years in Michigan, that instinct was basically the law. Property owners won slip-and-fall cases by arguing the hazard was "open and obvious," and judges tossed the cases before a jury ever heard a word.

That changed in 2023. The Michigan Supreme Court ended the open-and-obvious rule as an automatic defense, and claims that used to die on a technicality now get a real hearing. So before you assume you have no case, here is what actually happens now in Michigan, what to do in the hours and days after a fall, and the mistakes that quietly sink an otherwise solid claim.

What to do right after a fall (before you leave)

The case is often won or lost in the first hour, on the floor where it happened. Do these, in order:

• Report it before you leave. Tell the manager or owner and make sure it goes into a written incident report. Ask for a copy or the report number. A fall nobody documented is a fall that, legally, gets argued never happened.
• Photograph everything. The hazard itself (the puddle, the ice, the broken step, the torn mat), the surrounding area, the missing "wet floor" sign, the lighting, and your shoes. Do it before anyone cleans it up.
• Get witness names and numbers. A stranger who saw the spill sitting there for 20 minutes is worth more than your memory of it later.
• Get medical care, even if you feel okay. Adrenaline hides injuries for a day or two. A gap between the fall and your first doctor visit is the first thing an insurer points to.
• Keep what you were wearing, especially your shoes, exactly as they were.

The single factor that makes or breaks these cases is whether the hazard was documented before the store cleaned it up. A puddle mopped away an hour later is your word against theirs. A timestamped photo is evidence.

What changed in 2023: "open and obvious" is gone

For decades, a Michigan property owner could end your case with three words. If the hazard was "open and obvious," meaning an average person should have noticed it, courts treated the owner as owing you no duty at all, and the case was dismissed before trial.

In Kandil-Elsayed v. F & E Oil, decided July 28, 2023, the Michigan Supreme Court threw that rule out. The visibility of a hazard is no longer a trap door that drops your claim at the start. It is now just one factor a jury weighs when deciding fault. You can read about the change directly from the Michigan Supreme Court.

In plain terms: the fact that you maybe could have seen the puddle no longer kills your case automatically. The question is now what it always should have been. Did the property owner act reasonably to keep people safe, and how does your own care factor in? That goes to a jury, not to a quick dismissal.

You can still recover even if you were partly at fault

Michigan runs on comparative fault, which surprises people. You do not have to be a perfect, blameless victim to recover.

Say a jury decides the store was 80% at fault for leaving a spill out with no sign, and you were 20% at fault for not noticing it. Your recovery is reduced by your 20% share. You are not barred from recovering. You are simply accountable for your part.

There is one important line. Under MCL 600.2959, if you are found more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover noneconomic damages (the pain-and-suffering part), though economic losses are still reduced by your share rather than erased. So fault percentage matters, and it is exactly the kind of thing a property owner's insurer will fight to inflate.

The mistakes that sink a Michigan slip-and-fall claim

Most claims are not lost in court. They are lost in the days right after the fall:

• Leaving without reporting it. No report, no record, easy denial.
• No photos. The hazard is gone within the hour and so is your proof.
• Giving the insurer a recorded statement. Their adjuster is trained to get you to minimize your injury or admit fault on tape. You are not required to give one.
• Posting on social media. A photo of you smiling at a barbecue becomes "exhibit A" that you were not really hurt.
• Waiting too long. Michigan's statute of limitations for injury claims is generally three years (MCL 600.5805). Miss that window and even the strongest case is worth nothing.
• Gaps in medical treatment. Skip appointments and the insurer argues you healed, or were never hurt at all.

When to call ELN

A quick fall with no real injury usually is not worth a lawsuit, and we will tell you that honestly. But it is worth a conversation if any of these fit:

• You were seriously hurt, or your injury kept you off work.
• The property owner or their insurer is denying everything, or already called you fast.
• You are not sure whether you even have a case after the 2023 change. (Many people who were told "no case" years ago would be told something different today.)

What ELN does: we move quickly to preserve evidence before it disappears, deal with the insurer so you do not have to, and build the premises-liability case the way Michigan law now allows. Every case is different and no result is ever guaranteed, but you may have options you did not think you had.

If you fell on someone else's property in Michigan and got hurt, talk to a lawyer before you talk to their insurance company. Start with ELN's personal injury practice or schedule a free case review. For the broader playbook on dealing with insurers, see our guide on the first 24 hours after a Michigan accident.

You Call, You Win.

This article is general information from ELN, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, and every case is unique. For advice on your specific situation, consult a licensed Michigan attorney.