© 2024 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

If Someone Gets Hurt on the Sidewalk on Your Property, Are You Liable?

After Beth Madden fell off her bike as a result of a crack in the sidewalk, she filed a negligence suit. If you're a property owner, keep reading. 

Madden's case went to Iowa's highest court, and in a split decision, justices ruled that a city can hold property owners financially responsible for the maintenance of sidewalks and any injuries people sustain on the sidewalk on their property due to cracks or disrepair. 

That's just one of the decisions from the Iowa Supreme Court's most recent term that has implications for Iowans. According to the courts, the police can pull you over for covering the county on your license plate with a frame, and if you’ve been convicted of operating while under the influence of alcohol, you can still run for public office.

This hour on River to River, we talk Iowa Supreme Court decisions and the implications they have for Iowans. Host Ben Kieffer talks with litigator Ryan Koopmans who works with Nyemaster Goode in Des Moines and Todd Pettys, an Associate Dean for Faculty and H. Blair and Joan V. White Chair in Civil Litigation at University of Iowa College of Law. 

Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River