Here in Clay County, Missouri, a tenant slip and fall case against the landlord went up to the appeals court which outlined Missouri law on point. The appellate opinion is at 935 S.W.2d 649 out of the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals, and titled Uptergrove v. Housing Authority of the City of Lawson, Mo.
This case makes a good statement of Missouri law existing on this area of personal injury law. The general rule in Missouri is that the landlord has no duty to tenant to remove snow and ice from the common areas of the apartment complex, unless he takes on that duty: (1) by agreement with the tenant, or (2) assumed the duty by making it a practice to remove the snow and ice.
Some tenants who are injured by slip and fall on a common walkway or parking lot look to their lease (usually provided by the landlord for the landlord’s benefit) and see that it puts no duty to remove on the landlord, or states that the tenant waives/releases his/her claims against the landlord for non-removal of snow and ice. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that is the end of your claim. There is more to it than that and the tenant may still have a case to recover for personal injury, loss of wages, property damage, etc. Have it checked out.
Kurt H. King
Law Office of Kurt H. King
816.781.6000
20 E. Franklin
Liberty, Clay County, Missouri 64068
http://www.kurthking.com
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