Lazy Folks Get Used To Nice Guy Clearing Snow From Their Street, Threaten To Sue After He Stops

Sometimes, it truly feels like no good deed goes unpunished, especially if you’ve tried to be kind and helpful to people only to get treated badly. As important as it is to do acts of charity, nobody should be taken advantage of for their kindness.

This is the exact situation a kind man found himself in after a year of taking a break from clearing the snow from public property. Even though he had thanklessly done it for 35 years, the moment he stopped, an entitled neighbor tried to force him to do it again.

More info: Reddit

Clearing snow and ice from the street is an exhausting task that takes a lot of time and effort, but it makes a big difference as it helps people move around safely

Person shoveling snow from a driveway.

Image credits: vlarvix / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The poster explained that he had been clearing snow from the front of his house and the public street for 35 years, but this year since it had gotten icier, he decided to just clear his space

Text block about shoveling snow in front of a house, discussing years of clearing snow in Calgary.

Text discussing a park on the street, related to neighbors not thanking a guy for shoveling their snow.

Text about snow shoveling for visitors' safe access on a sloped street.

Text discussing neighbor's complaint about snow shoveling.

Person slipping on icy sidewalk, illustrating frustration when neighbors don't shovel snow.

Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)

An entitled neighbor came up to him one day and complained that because he hadn’t cleared everyone’s ice, their visitor had slipped and got injured

Someone fell after parking in front of the house due to snow not being shoveled.

Text excerpt about neighbors upset over snow shoveling, mentioning injury and lawsuit threats.

Text about neighbors relying on another to clear snow, stating it's too much work.

Text about a person being threatened with a lawsuit for not shoveling snow, leading to an injury.

Paramedic assists two people walking through snow towards an ambulance.

Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The man explained that he had stopped doing it because nobody had thanked him in 35 years, and when he asked the neighbor why they didn’t do it, they said it was too much work

Text excerpt about an ambulance incident involving a fall and boots being cut off for an ankle examination.

Text about neighbor disputes over snow shoveling, mentioning legal action.

Text about insurance coverage related to snow shoveling on public streets.

Text discussing potential legal actions concerning neighbor disputes over snow shoveling.

Image credits: shasta59

The demanding neighbor also threatened the poster by saying he’d be sued for not clearing the snow because the person who got injured had to miss work

The OP explained that he had been clearing snow and ice not just from his sidewalk, but from the public street, since 1989. His work was so thorough that visitors could move around safely and could even do a three-point turn there with ease. Despite this selfless work, none of his neighbors thanked him for his effort.

In fact, one of the folks living nearby complained when he missed clearing the ice one time. The neighbor was up in arms over a visitor who had slipped and injured themselves. They believed that the guy had a “duty of care” to clear the snow since he had been doing it for so long.

A duty of care refers to a legal obligation that a person has to uphold a standard of safety to protect people from foreseeable harm. It’s obvious that the OP wasn’t legally obligated to clear snow for anybody on his street and that he had only been doing it out of the goodness of his heart.

His neighbor felt entitled to his time and effort and still expected him to clear the ice for everyone else. Unfortunately, ungrateful and entitled people like this do exist and it can be difficult to deal with them. Experts say that the best thing to do is to communicate your boundaries with such folks, and if that doesn’t work, avoid getting sucked into their negativity and ingratitude.

Snow-covered house with warm interior lights, trees, and parked car, reflecting winter scene in a neighborhood.

Image credits: Michael Steinman / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

What was most shocking about the entire situation was that the person who got injured planned to sue the OP for not clearing the snow. The individual had twisted their ankle when they slipped and it caused them to miss work. The ambulance workers also had to cut open their boot to examine the ankle, so they felt it was the poster’s responsibility to pay for it.

Legally, premises liability laws state that property owners must maintain safe conditions for visitors, and if they fail to do so, they can be held liable. In this case, the man had done everything to keep his pavement safe—he just didn’t do it for everyone else. He also wasn’t legally obligated to do so, as that was the responsibility of the other neighbors.

The funniest part of all was when the OP asked his neighbor why they didn’t clear the ice themselves—the person told him it was very hard work. They also expected him to keep doing it for everyone else because it’s what he had always done.

At the very least, the man finally realized how selfish the neighbors were that he had been living next to. He can now peacefully enjoy his snow-free sidewalk and get his revenge served cold by watching the folks next door slip and slide on the ice.

Have you ever had to deal with a neighbor like this, and if so, what did you do about it?

People sided with the poster and could not believe how entitled his neighbors were

Reddit users discuss neighbors never thanking a man for shoveling snow; they threaten to sue when he stops.

Forum discussion about snow shoveling responsibilities, focusing on neighbor disputes and legal duty.

Reddit comments discussing entitlement and legal threats related to snow shoveling.

Reddit discussion about neighbors not thanking for snow shoveling, considering lawsuit actions.

Reddit thread discussing snow shoveling dispute and potential lawsuit involving neighbors.

Reddit discussion about a guy who's never thanked by neighbors for shoveling snow, facing legal threats when he stops.

Poll Question

Total votes ·

Thanks! Check out the results:

Total votes ·

Newsletter

Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls

Subscribe

By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.

Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!

Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!

Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda!