Slip, Trip and Fall Injuries in Alaska

Slip and fall / premises liability: Alaska uses a single reasonable-care standard rather than separate duties for invitees, licensees and trespassers. Under the state's official civil pattern jury instruction, a landowner or property owner is negligent if the owner fails to use reasonable care to guard against unreasonable risks created by a dangerous condition on the property. The injured person must also show harm and that the owner's negligence was a substantial factor in causing it. The instruction's comment, citing Webb v. City & Borough of Sitka (Alaska 1977), says the owner must keep the property reasonably safe in view of all the circumstances, including the likelihood and seriousness of injury and the burden of avoiding the risk.

Claims against a city or borough: Alaska law allows a lawsuit against a municipality acting in its corporate character and within the scope of its authority, and a municipality may not require a person to post a bond as a condition of suing it. The statute bars suits based on certain acts, including discretionary functions, permit and license decisions, and failure to inspect or abate hazards on property the municipality does not own or lease. The section read does not set a notice-of-claim deadline or a damage cap.

Pure comparative fault. An injured person's own share of fault reduces the damages in proportion but does not bar recovery, no matter how large that share is. Fault is allocated by percentage among all responsible parties, including some non-parties.

A lawsuit for personal injury, or for assault, battery, false imprisonment, libel or slander, must be filed within two years after the claim accrues. Separately, most injury claims cannot be brought more than 10 years after the last act that caused the injury (or substantial completion of construction), with exceptions such as intentional acts, gross negligence, defective products, fraud and concealed facts.