Legally, Shoveling Your Sidewalk Might Not Be a Good Idea

With the weekend snow many have been shoveling driveways and sidewalk's to keep them clear of snow and ice, but is that a wise thing to do?

I was having a conversation Saturday night with a friend about some of the crazy laws this country has as we were trying to walk on an icy sidewalk of a local restaurant. I wondered why the owner wouldn't 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 your 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."