We have all been there: you’re walking along, minding your business, when all of a sudden, you fall. Sometimes you might look back at the sidewalk in disbelief like you can’t believe that it tripped you (when you actually fell over your own two feet). But in other cases, it might have been a dangerous condition that caused your fall.
If you fell because of a hazard on the property, you might be able to file a lawsuit against the property owner and their insurance company for your losses. Through a premises liability claim, you can recover financial compensation for your lost wages, medical bills, emotional distress, and other losses. An experienced Garden City personal injury attorney will help you get maximum compensation for your injuries.
With an office in Garden City, NY, The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers advocates for injury victims throughout Nassau County. We offer free initial consultations and never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. To learn more or to schedule an appointment with a Garden City slip and fall attorney, contact our law offices today.
When Can I File a Lawsuit for a Slip and Fall in New York?
Slip and fall cases are a specific type of personal injury claim known as premises liability lawsuits. Like most personal injury lawsuits, a premises liability claim is usually based on a theory of negligence (carelessness). However, the standard for premises liability cases is a bit different from other types of personal injury cases (such as motorcycle accidents).
To win a slip-and-fall case, the accident victim (plaintiff) will have to prove 4 things:
- The property owner (defendant) owed the plaintiff a duty of care;
- The property owner violated (breached) that duty of care in some way;
- The plaintiff was injured; and
- The plaintiff’s injury was caused by the property owner’s violation.
The key in premises liability cases is often whether the property owner owed the plaintiff a duty of care – and whether they violated it. The duty of care is what a property owner should do to make sure that their property is reasonably safe for other people. If there is a hazardous condition on a piece of property that the owner knows or should know about, then they have a duty of care to others.
A property owner’s duty of care includes the responsibility to inspect their property to discover dangerous conditions. Property owners are then either obligated to fix the hazard or warn others about it (such as by painting a bump in the sidewalk a bright color). If the hazard is particularly dangerous, like an open hole in the ground, then the property owner will have an even higher duty of care (such as putting up caution tape around the hole).
If a premises is open for business in some way, then property owners owe anyone who comes onto their property for commercial purposes – known as “invitees” a higher duty of care. Invitees can include everyone from customers at a grocery store to guests at an Airbnb property. If someone is using their property for business, then they must take extra care to (1) learn about dangerous conditions; (2) fix any hazards; and/or (3) warn others about the danger.
People who enter a property illegally are known as trespassers. In New York, property owners owe a lower duty of care to trespassers – but not in every situation. If a property owner knows that people are trespassing (such as walking over their property to get to a public park), then they may have a higher duty of care.
In addition, if a property owner has something both dangerous and enticing to kids on their property – like a pool – then they must take extra steps to protect kids from that hazard. This is known as an “attractive nuisance.” If a property owner fails to prevent kids from gaining access to an attractive nuisance on their property (such as by putting up a fence with a lock), then they could be liable for any injuries that result.
Importantly, for purposes of premises liability lawsuits, a property owner can include both someone who owns the property as well as someone who rents or otherwise has control over it. For example, a store that rents a space in a shopping plaza could be liable in a slip and fall case even though they don’t own the property. Similarly, if you are hurt at the home of someone who rents their house, you can file a claim against them.
Proving that a property owner owed you a duty of care and violated that duty can be challenging. Our experienced Garden City slip and fall accident attorneys will work with you to help you put together a strong compensation claim.
Compensation and Settlements in Garden City Slip and Fall Claims
Like most other types of personal injury claims, slip and fall cases are usually covered by insurance. Depending on where the accident occurred, you might file a claim with a person’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy or with a business’ commercial liability policy. It is important to remember that if you file a claim against a friend or family member, it will be with their insurance company.
While you may feel unsure about pursuing a claim against a loved one, keep in mind that they pay for insurance for exactly this reason. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you might have significant medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. Insurance exists to protect both the homeowner and the accident victims in situations just like this.
In a Garden City slip-and-fall claim, you could be entitled to compensation for your economic and non-economic damages (collectively, compensatory damages). In more unusual cases, you could also be awarded punitive damages if the property owner acted intentionally or recklessly.
Economic damages pay for your direct financial losses. Examples include property damage, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, medical bills, and future medical treatment. These damages are often documented through paystubs, invoices, estimates, and bills.
Non-economic damages pay for your intangible losses. They can be harder to prove because you won’t get a bill for it – but they are just as vital to your full recovery. Examples of non-economic damages include pain and suffering, emotional distress, scarring, disfigurement, and reduced quality of life.
Punitive damages are only awarded in rare cases that involve something more than negligence: intentional or reckless behavior. This is not the typical slip-and-fall case, but there may be situations where punitive damages are appropriate. For example, if someone wets their sidewalk when it’s below freezing to “play a prank” on someone and the other person falls on the ice, they might be entitled to punitive damages.
If a person dies in slip and fall, their surviving family members may file a wrongful death claim. This type of lawsuit is brought on behalf of the estate. A Garden City personal injury attorney can recover financial compensation for funeral and burial expenses, loss of companionship and support, loss of income, and more for the survivors.
Remember: if the insurance company reaches out to you to settle the claim, don’t give a statement, sign any paperwork, or agree to a settlement before you have had a chance to talk to a lawyer. The insurance company’s goal is to resolve your claim for as little money as possible – which is not in your best interests. The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers will fight to get you maximum compensation for your injuries.
What Happens If I Slip and Fall at Work?
If you fall at work, then the way that you seek compensation might be different. Typically work-related injuries are covered through the New York workers’ compensation system. However, if a third party caused your workplace injury, then you might be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against them,
While workers’ compensation does provide medical and cash benefits, it is often more limited than a recovery through a personal injury claim. Our Garden City slip and fall accident attorneys can help you determine if you might be able to file a lawsuit. Contact The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation.
How Can I Pay for a Lawyer?
Personal injury law firms – like The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers – almost always handle cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that you pay nothing out of pocket and only pay a fee if you recover money through a settlement or verdict at trial. The attorney’s fee that you pay will be a percentage of your total recovery.
Contingency fee arrangements make it possible for anyone to hire an attorney. Reach out to The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers today to schedule a free initial consultation with a Garden City slip and fall lawyer.
What Is a Dangerous Condition?
Slipping, tripping, and falling isn’t that unusual. You might have fall hazards in your own home – like loose rugs or cords. But when a dangerous condition on someone else’s property causes you to get hurt, you might be able to file a lawsuit against the property owner.
Common examples of dangerous conditions that can cause injuries include:
- Broken or crumbling concrete
- Loose surface material, such as gravel
- Spilled liquids on a slippery floor
- Poor lighting
- Missing or broken handrails
- Snowy or icy sidewalks
- Unsecured carpets or rugs
- Tile that is extremely slick when it gets wet
- Defective or damaged stairs
Any of these dangerous conditions has the potential to cause a slip-and-fall accident. If someone is hurt because of a hazard, then they can file a personal injury lawsuit against the property owner.
To win this type of claim, you will have to prove that the dangerous condition existed and that the property owner violated their duty of care to you. As discussed above, property owners have a duty to inspect their premises for hazards and either fix them or warn others about them. If the property owner didn’t know about the danger – and couldn’t have reasonably known about it – then they probably won’t be held liable for your injuries.
For example, consider a situation where there is a customer at a grocery store drops a bottle of cleaning solution and it shatters on the floor. Another customer slips and falls on the liquid, tearing a ligament in their knee in the process. The store might be liable for the accident if they knew about the spill and had a chance to either clean it up or put up caution signs before the second customer fell.
These cases are often very fact-specific. In the above example, the store might be responsible if they knew about the spill but waited an hour to deal with it because they were busy. If the second customer fell just moments after the liquid was spilled, then the store probably wouldn’t be liable for any injuries.
It can be difficult to know whether you have a potential slip and fall. Our Garden City slip and fall lawyers will listen to your story during a free initial consultation. They will then offer you legal advice about your rights and options for pursuing a legal claim. They can also give you a rough estimate of the value of your claim to help you decide how to move forward.
Help from Slip and Fall Accident Attorneys in Garden City, NY
Slips, trips, and falls can cause serious injuries and result in significant time off of work. If you have been hurt in a slip-and-fall accident, you might be able to file a claim against the property owner who failed to keep their premises safe. Our law offices will advocate for your right to full compensation.
The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers handles all types of personal injury matters – including slip and fall claims. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you will never pay a fee unless we recover money for you. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation with a Garden City slip and fall attorney, give our law offices a call at 631-752-8580 or fill out our online contact form.
