The First Hour After Someone Slips on Ice at Your Property
October 20, 2026 · JRW Services LLC
Help the person, then document everything while it is fresh: photos, time, weather, what was plowed or salted and when. Report to your insurer and get the contractor's service log.
A slip on ice at a commercial property usually becomes a claim months later, and by then everything anyone remembers is contested. What happens in the first hour is what decides how that claim goes. None of this is legal advice; it is the practical checklist property managers wish they had followed.
1. Help the person
Before anything else. Call for medical help if it is needed, and do not move someone who may be seriously hurt. Everything below can wait ten minutes. That cannot.
2. Photograph the spot, now
Photos taken within the hour are worth more than any written description made later. Take them before anyone salts or shovels the area:
- The exact spot, close up, and the surrounding area from a distance
- The path the person was walking, from both directions
- Lighting, signage, handrails and any downspout or pile that drains toward the spot
- Something that shows the time: your phone timestamp is enough
3. Write down the conditions
The time, the weather at that moment, whether it was snowing, raining or clear, and what the surface looked like. If there were witnesses, their names and phone numbers. Keep it factual. Do not write down guesses about who was at fault.
4. Pull the service record
Ask your snow contractor for the service log for the storm, today if you can. It should show when crews were on site, which areas were plowed or shoveled, and what material was applied where. This is the single most important document in a slip-and-fall defense, and it is why we send a written report after every event rather than a monthly invoice.
If the log shows the area was treated two hours before the fall, that matters. If it shows the area was not in the scope at all, that matters too, and it is better to find out now.
5. Report it
Notify your insurance carrier as your policy requires, and your contractor, so they can notify theirs. Let the insurer and your attorney handle anything that follows. Avoid statements about fault in emails or texts.
6. Keep everything
New Jersey's general deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is two years, under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, and some claims run longer. Keep the photos, your notes, the service reports and the contract that was in force, for at least that long and longer if your insurer or attorney advises it.
Before it happens
The best time to fix this list is before the season:
- Make sure the contract names every walkway, entrance and stair, not just the lot
- Confirm you will get a service report after every event
- Know the shaded and low spots where ice forms first, and make sure they are in the plan
Common questions
What should I do right after someone slips on ice at my business? Help the person first. Then photograph the spot and the surrounding area before it is treated, write down the time and conditions, get witness details, and ask your snow contractor for the service log.
Should I salt the spot right away? Yes, to stop anyone else falling, but photograph it first.
How long should I keep records of a slip and fall? At least two years, New Jersey's general deadline for personal injury lawsuits, and longer if your insurer or attorney advises it.
See what a service record should contain on our sample service report, and why it matters in snow service logs as your slip-and-fall defense.
Looking for a contractor that is prepared for the worst?
That is the whole way we run. Fill out the form or call (973) 459-0074, and we will walk your property and build the plan before the first storm.