North Dakota Premises Liability Lawyer

What duty does a North Dakota property owner owe me?

Owners and occupiers generally must use reasonable care to keep their property safe for people who are lawfully there. That includes fixing hazards they know about, or should find with reasonable inspection, and warning about dangers that cannot be fixed right away.

North Dakota courts look at the whole situation, including how the property is used, how likely injury was, and how hard it would have been to prevent. Trespassers are generally owed less. To prove a claim, you usually must show the owner created the hazard or knew or should have known about it, and did not act in time.

Is a property owner responsible for snow and ice in North Dakota?

Sometimes. Snow and ice are part of life here, and owners are not expected to keep every surface perfectly clear during a storm. But they must respond reasonably, and the question is whether they did.

An owner who leaves ice on a busy entrance for days, piles snow where melt refreezes across a walkway, or ignores a broken gutter dripping onto steps may be responsible. Weather records, maintenance logs, plowing contracts and photos of the area matter. Many businesses hire snow removal contractors, which can add a second responsible party. Lighting matters too, because short winter days mean many falls happen in the dark.

How does the 50% bar affect a slip and fall?

Your award is reduced by your share of fault, and if you are found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. Owners often argue that ice or snow was obvious and you should have avoided it.

Here is an example. A shopper falls on a sheet of ice at the entrance of a Bismarck store. Video shows staff walked past it for two hours without salting it. The shopper's losses total $90,000, and the store argues she wore the wrong boots and walked too fast. If the jury finds the store 70% at fault and the shopper 30%, she recovers $63,000. If the jury split fault evenly, she would recover nothing. Video and the store's own ice-control policies can keep her share low.

What other premises hazards are common in North Dakota?

Beyond ice, many claims come from aging buildings, fast-growing towns and rural work sites.

• Retail stores and malls in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot
• Apartment complexes and worker housing built quickly in oil country, with stair, lighting and security problems
• Hotels and event venues with pools, balconies and crowded parking lots
• Farm sites and grain facilities visited by delivery drivers, inspectors and contractors
• Dogs on rental property, covered on our dog bite page

Can I sue if I was attacked at a hotel, bar or apartment complex?

Sometimes. An owner may be responsible for a criminal attack when it was reasonably foreseeable and the owner failed to take reasonable security steps.

Prior crimes at the property, ignored complaints, broken locks and poor lighting can all support a claim. Bars that keep serving visibly intoxicated patrons, or that ignore fights brewing in a parking lot, can face similar questions. The attacker remains responsible, and North Dakota juries assign fault to each party. Because of the 50% bar, the comparison between the victim's share and the defendants' shares matters a great deal.

What about public property and recreational land?

Claims involving public property follow special rules. Cities, counties and the state can have notice requirements and limits on damages, so identifying who owns the property early is important. See our government and public property claims page.

North Dakota also has a recreational use law that limits the liability of landowners who let the public use their land for free recreation, such as hunting or fishing. That protection usually does not apply when a fee is charged or the owner acted willfully.

1. Photograph the hazard, lighting and weather conditions.
2. Report the fall in writing and get a copy of the report.
3. Get names of witnesses.
4. Keep your footwear and clothing.

Most premises lawsuits can be filed within 6 years. Our North Dakota overview covers the state's general rules, and our North Dakota wrongful death page explains options after a fatal fall. We offer a free case review, and you pay no fee unless we win.