When you get injured on someone else’s property as a result of a fall, proving liability is one of the important steps to ensure that you get fair compensation for your losses. In New York, premises liability cases, including slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall cases, are determined by the law of negligence (carelessness). If you have been injured due to a fall on someone else’s property because of a dangerous condition, the city or a property owner and/or manager can be held liable for your damages and losses.
What is Negligence (carelessness)?
The law of negligence (carelessness) governs all types of personal injury claims 
in New York. And as in all personal injury cases, plaintiffs (victims) have the burden of proof when it comes to proving negligence (carelessness) in premises liability cases. However, it must be noted that property owners and business owners and managers have a “duty of care” to individuals who are on their property. Here are some of the basic requirements when it comes to property owners/managers and duty of care:
Invitees: Property owners and managers owe the highest duty of care to “invitees.” These are the business customers who are invited to visit the property. Property owners and managers have a duty to inspect their premises and ensure that the invitees are safe and not subjected to unreasonable risk of injury.
Licensees: These are social guests who visit the property. With regard to licensees, property owners and managers have a duty to repair the injury hazards that exist and/or warn people about known safety risks.
Examples of Negligence (carelessness)
Here are some of the most common examples of negligence (carelessness) in slip-and-fall cases or trip-and-fall cases where you may be able to recover compensation. The landlord (building owner), property owner or property manager:
• Failed to clean up a spill that caused a slip and fall accident.
• Failed to warn visitors of the existing hazard. For example, if there is a liquid spill or a broken stair, visitors should be warned with caution tape, etc. or in another location where there’s a hazard, cones may be placed to mark the area and alert visitors to exercise caution.
• Failed to repair or replace dangerous conditions such as broken stairs.
• Failed to safely remove snow or ice that caused the slip and fall accident.
• Failed to maintain adequate lighting or security in his or her premises.
• Failed to install barriers or fencing around a swimming pool, construction site or other hazardous area with potential for injury.
Elements of a Slip and Fall Case
There are four essential elements plaintiffs (victims) must prove in order to be successful with a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall case. First, they should show that the defendant had a duty of care to maintain the premises and fix any conditions that may cause harm. Next, the plaintiff (victims) should prove that the defendants had “notice,” which means that they knew or should have known that the condition can cause harm to the public.
Thirdly, plaintiffs (victims) should demonstrate that a dangerous condition existed. The victim needs to show that the defendant knew or should have known that the dangerous conditions existed, creating an unreasonable hazard that caused the injury. Finally, plaintiffs (victims) should also show that they suffered damages as a result of the slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident and include evidence that the dangerous condition was responsible for their injuries and damages.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
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 49 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 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 and medical malpractice 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.
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1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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