If you have been injured due to a fall caused by a dangerous condition on another person’s property, you may be able to obtain compensation for your damages in a premises liability suit.
Queens Slip & Fall Lawyer
Slip, Trip & Fall Accidents in New York City
Most of the time, you can get through life’s minor mishaps with barely a scratch. But now and then, you may be seriously hurt in an accident that comes about due to a dangerous condition you were not aware of. A slippery floor, a broken handrail on a stairwell, or an abrupt change in floor elevation can cause a person to trip or fall, resulting in broken bones or even more serious injuries.
The Queens slip and fall injury attorneys at The Cassisi Law Firm have over 30 years of experience assisting personal injury victims in obtaining the damages to which they are legally entitled.
Call us at (718) 524-3398 or contact us online today to request a free, no-obligation consultation. We offer legal services in English, Spanish, and Italian.
Filing a Slip & Fall Claim
If you are injured as the result of an unsafe condition existing on another person’s property—usually a business but also including private residences—you may be entitled to compensation from the owner of the premises or the business proprietor.
Premises liability is a type of negligence tort. In general, four factors are needed to show negligence:
- The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff
- The defendant breached that duty
- The breach resulted in an injury
- Fourth, the plaintiff suffered damages
For premises liability, specifically, the plaintiff must also show that:
- They were on the property lawfully (for example, shopping or hired to perform a job)
- The owner or proprietor of the property knew or should have known of an unsafe condition on the property
- The owner failed to adequately repair the condition, block it off, or provide a warning
- The unsafe condition brought about the injury
It is important to note that the plaintiff must be lawfully on the property. A trespasser is not owed a duty of care, although there are some exceptions; specifically, if the owner knows of the trespass and lets the person remain or, in the case of children, if the proprietor maintains an “attractive nuisance” on the property that he knows or should know would entice children to trespass (for example, a fishing pond or a playground set that is not fenced off).
Common Causes of Slip, Trip & Fall Accidents
The policy behind premises liability is to make sure that business and property owners take appropriate care to protect the public from foreseeable harms that occur due to hazardous property conditions.
Slip, trip, and fall accidents are often caused by:
- Holes or ditches
- Uneven pavement or flooring
- Oily, wet, or icy surfaces
- Wires, cables, or other low trip hazards
- Poorly designed ramps or stairs
- Cluttered walkways
- Insufficient lighting
If you slipped or fell on someone else’s property due to any hazardous or dangerous condition, you could have grounds for a case. Reach out to our team today to learn more about your legal rights and options.
Common Slip & Fall Injuries
Although slip, trip, and fall accidents are often thought of as not that serious, victims often sustain severe or even catastrophic injuries.
Someone who slips, trips, or falls due to unsafe property conditions may experience any of the following injuries:
- Broken bones/fractures
- Hand and wrist injuries
- Head trauma
- Knee injuries
- Neck, back, and shoulder injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Sprains and strains
- Traumatic brain injuries
Often, slip and fall victims face a challenging road to recovery. They may need emergency medical attention and ongoing treatments, such as surgeries or rehabilitative care. In many cases, victims are unable to return to work temporarily or, in the worst cases, permanently. This can cause serious financial stress in addition to the immense physical pain and emotional suffering victims are likely to endure.
Damages in Slip & Fall Accident Claims
After a slip and fall accident, you may experience numerous physical, financial, and emotional hardships. If a negligent property owner is liable for your damages, you can file a premises liability claim and seek fair recovery for your losses.
Damages in a premises liability claim may include:
- Emergency medical care
- Surgery
- Rehabilitation therapy
- Ongoing and future medical costs
- Lost income/wages
- Pain and suffering
- Lost future earnings and lost earning ability due to disability
- Emotional trauma and distress
Our Queens slip and fall lawyers are prepared to aggressively advocate for you. We work to maximize our clients’ recoveries so they can get back on their feet and move forward with their lives.
The Standard of Reasonableness
Premises liability law, like all negligence law, employs a standard of “reasonableness,” and this standard applies both to defendants and plaintiffs. If a reasonable and prudent landowner could not have known of the dangerous condition and remedied it, then the landowner may not be liable. Owners are not insurers of all who come on their property; rather, the law requires them to prevent only that harm that is foreseeable and preventable.
Similarly, if a plaintiff is fully aware of a dangerous condition and foolishly injures himself, he may be barred either partially or fully from recovery.
We Can Evaluate Your Slip & Fall Claim Today
If you have been injured on someone else’s property and believe you may have a case for premises liability, contact our Queens slip and fall lawyers at The Cassisi Law Firm. Over the last three decades, we have assisted many personal injury clients throughout Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, as well as in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Call us at (718) 524-3398 for a free, no-obligation consultation to find out how we may assist you, or use the online contact form on this website to get in touch with us today.
