As the weather warms and more people spend time outdoors, property owners/managers must prepare for seasonal hazards that can lead to slip-and-fall or trip and fall accidents. These incidents are among the most common causes of personal injury claims. Under premises liability laws, property owners and managers have a legal duty to maintain their properties in a reasonably safe condition, especially during the spring and summer months when foot traffic increases and new hazards emerge.
Understanding Liability Issues
In the eyes of the law, property owners and managers owe a duty of care to tenants, guests and visitors to their property. If a person is injured due to a property owner’s or manager’s failure to maintain a safe environment, these parties may be held liable for the injuries and damages suffered by victims. To prove negligence (carelessness), an injured party must generally show that:
- The defendants owed a duty of care.
- They breached that duty by failing to act reasonably.
- The breach directly caused the injury.
- The injury resulted in damages such as medical bills and lost wages.
Common Spring and Summer Hazards
The change of seasons brings a new set of environmental and human-related risks. Here are several hazards that can lead to personal injury claims if not properly managed:
- Wet surfaces: Spring and summer showers can leave walkways, decks, and steps slippery. Additionally, irrigation systems and outdoor cleaning efforts often create puddles or wet areas. Property owners and managers should ensure proper drainage and post signage of wet surfaces to warn tenants, guests and visitors. Placing non-slip mats or textured surfaces in high-traffic areas is a good way to prevent slip-and-fall accidents due to wet surfaces.
- Uneven and defective pavement: With more people walking outside, sidewalks and driveways become common sites of trip-and-fall injuries, especially where there are cracks, raised edges, or tree roots. Concrete areas must be regularly inspected for cracks and uneven or cracked walkways must be promptly repaired.
- Loose handrails and broken steps: Winter weather can damage structural elements like railings and stairs. Spring and summer are ideal times to inspect and fix these components. All handrails, especially on exterior stairs, should be tested and secured. Broken boards or tiles on stairs and decks should be replaced and local building codes should be followed for stair and railing safety.
- Clutter and debris in walkways: Seasonal yard work often results in gardening tools, hoses and outdoor furniture obstructing pathways, creating trip hazards. Regular clean-up of communal outdoor spaces and providing designated areas for storage of seasonal items can help avert mishaps caused by clutter and debris.
Property owners, managers and their agents have a duty to inspect their property and repair hazards that might cause slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accidents. “Not knowing” is not a defense, especially if a hazard is obvious or long-standing. Courts often look at whether defendants in such cases “knew or should have known” that the hazard existed. If a third-party contractor such as a landscaper or maintenance company contributed to a hazardous condition, they may share liability.
Contacting an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer
Slip-trip-and-fall accidents can result in serious, disabling or even life-threatening injuries. If you were involved in a slip-and-fall or a trip-and-fall 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.
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 53 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 also 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. Also, 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.
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