Slip & Fall Lawyer in Indiana

Indiana's two-year personal injury SOL under Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4 begins on the date of injury — but the evidence that determines whether a premises claim succeeds disappears far sooner. Businesses in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, and South Bend overwrite surveillance camera footage within 24 to 72 hours as part of routine recording-loop protocols. Incident reports documenting the fall — and any internal records of prior similar incidents that establish the owner's notice — are internal documents subject to spoliation if not formally demanded. Indiana courts require actual or constructive notice for invitee claims. Constructive notice is established by proving that the dangerous condition existed long enough that the owner, in the exercise of ordinary care, should have discovered and corrected it. Maintenance logs and video footage are the primary evidence of both.

Indiana premises liability turns entirely on the plaintiff's status at the time of the fall. Invitees — customers, business visitors, members of the public invited to a premises — receive the highest duty: the landowner must exercise reasonable care for their protection, including inspecting for hazards, repairing known dangers, and warning of latent risks. Licensees — social guests, persons with implied permission — receive a lesser duty: the landowner must warn of latent dangers of which they have actual knowledge. Trespassers receive only the willful-and-wanton standard. The Indiana Supreme Court in Burrell v. Meads, 569 N.E.2d 637 (Ind. 1991) confirmed that social guests are licensees rather than invitees, which is significant in residential fall cases. Classification is decided as a matter of law, and the wrong classification eliminates the claim.

The natural accumulation doctrine in Indiana shields landowners from liability for naturally occurring accumulations of snow and ice — the fall of snow, the formation of black ice from natural temperature fluctuations, and the natural refreezing of melted snow are not compensable under Indiana premises law. But landowners lose this protection when the accumulation is unnatural — caused by a design defect in drainage, a misdirected downspout creating a recurring ice patch at an entrance, snow plowed into a walkway by the owner, or ice that reformed from the owner's own incomplete removal effort. An attorney analyzes the exact mechanism of accumulation to determine whether the natural accumulation defense applies or whether facts support an unnatural accumulation theory. Indiana's 51% comparative fault bar under § 34-51-2-6 also applies — if the victim's own fault in encountering an obvious hazard exceeds 50%, recovery is eliminated.

Slip and fall incidents on Indiana government property — INDOT-maintained highway rest areas, city sidewalks, county courthouse steps, municipal parking structures — are governed by the Indiana Tort Claims Act. Under Ind. Code § 34-13-3-8, written notice of a tort claim must be filed with the governing body of the appropriate political subdivision within 180 days of the date of loss. Miss the 180-day notice and the government-entity claim is permanently barred, regardless of how much time remains on the two-year PI SOL. ITCA damages against government defendants are capped at $700,000 per person and $5,000,000 per occurrence under § 34-13-3-4. State agency claims may require notice to the Indiana Attorney General. Identifying the correct government entity, filing the correct notice form, and meeting the 180-day deadline are the threshold steps that preserve the government-entity track of recovery.