In New York, people who are injured on another person’s property can seek compensation through the legal concept known as premises liability. This area of the law holds property owners/property managers responsible for injuries that occur because of unsafe or defective conditions on their property. Whether the accident happens in a private home, an apartment building, a retail store or a public place, property owners and managers in New York have a legal duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition and to warn people about known hazards. When they fail to do so and someone is injured as a result, the victim may be able to recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, and pain and suffering, etc.
The Legal Duty of Property Owners and Property Managers
Under New York law, property owners and property managers owe a duty of care to visitors, tenants and guests who are on their property for a variety of reasons. This duty means taking reasonable steps to ensure that the property is safe and free from dangers that can cause harm. Owners/managers are expected to inspect their property regularly, repair unsafe conditions and provide adequate warnings when hazards cannot be fixed immediately. They must make sure that walkways, entrances, and interiors are safe for public use, while private homeowners and apartment building owners and managers must take reasonable steps to prevent harm to guests.
Common Types of Dangerous or Defective Property Conditions
Premises liability cases in New York can arise from a wide range of dangerous or defective conditions. Some of the most common include:
Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents: Wet floors, spilled liquids, snow and ice buildup, loose carpets or uneven surfaces can cause people to slip and sustain injuries. Property owners and managers must take timely action to clean spills or remove snow and ice. Broken sidewalks, potholes, defective stairs, or poorly maintained flooring can create tripping hazards that lead to trip-and-fall accidents and serious injuries.
Inadequate Maintenance: Neglecting regular upkeep, such as failing to repair broken handrails, loose tiles, or faulty lighting, can result in accidents that may have been prevented.
Inadequate security: Property owners/managers including landlords and business operators may be held liable if poor security measures (like broken locks, lack of lighting, or absence of surveillance) contribute to criminal assaults or thefts.
Falling objects: Items that fall from shelves, ceilings, facades or construction sites can cause head or bodily injuries.
Defective elevators or escalators: Mechanical failures or poor maintenance of these systems can cause serious or even fatal injuries.
Unsafe building conditions: Structural defects, collapsing ceilings or malfunctioning electrical systems pose risks to occupants and visitors alike.
Each of these situations can lead to a premises liability claim, especially if the property owner knew — or reasonably should have known — about the hazardous condition and failed to correct it.
Proving Negligence (Carelessness) in a Premises Liability Case
A premises liability case in New York must prove several key elements to be successful:
- Ownership or control: The defendant owned, leased or controlled the property
where the injury occurred. - Negligence (carelessness): The defendant was negligent in maintaining the
property. - Notice of the hazard: The defendant knew, or should have known, about the
dangerous condition but failed to repair it or warn visitors. - Causation: The unsafe condition directly caused the plaintiff’s (victim’s) injury.
- Damages: The victim suffered actual harm, such as medical expenses, lost income and benefits and/or pain and suffering, etc.
New York Premises Liability Lawyers
Incidents involving dangerous or defective property can result in disabling or even life threatening injuries. If you were involved in such an accident as a result of someone else’s negligence (carelessness), please remember that you have rights. Some of the damages that victims of such accidents can claim include, but are not limited to, medical expenses, loss of wages and benefits, cost of hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, past and future pain and suffering, permanent injury, etc. If you have been injured, it is in your best interest in such cases to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting your own insurance company.
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. For over 54 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims.
Our law firm recovered $1,700,000 for a woman who slipped and fell and received no hospital or medical treatment for one month after the accident. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. We also recovered $1,500,000 for a lady who was hurt by a bus.
We also obtained $295,000 out of a $300,000 insurance policy in compensation for the victim of a bicycle dooring accident (where a car door opens into the path of a bicyclist). One of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases. Also, we got a $1,400,000 verdict in a motorcycle accident.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
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