It is Not Legally ‘Smart’ to Shovel Your Sidewalk

I was having a conversation with a friend recently about some of the crazy laws this country has and I recalled a story another friend told me last year regarding snow covered sidewalks. We were trying to walk on an icy sidewalk of a local restaurant last winter and I wondered why wouldn't the owner clean the snow off the sidewalk? I thought, "wouldn't a clean sidewalk be better for his customers?" As an owner you sure wouldn't want a customer to slip on their property. With that said, you will be amazed as why you should leave the snow on the sidewalk.

The person I was with reminded me of this unbelievable reason as to why it would be better to NOT shovel your sidewalk than to clean it off.

If a person slips and falls on your property after you cleaned off your sidewalk, you are most likely liable for any injuries sustained in the fall. If you didn't touch it at all and a person falls and injures themselves in the fall you most likely would not be liable because the fall occurred due to an "act of God" (snowfall and ice).

Now does that make any sense? Not really, but apparently it does legally. To which all I can say is "only in America."