Have you injured yourself on someone else’s property? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and related losses. In order to recover this compensation against the property owner or other party, you must be able to prove liability. Liability essentially refers to who is at fault for causing the accident that led to your injuries. It can be difficult and require complex analysis, but liability is the key to recovering much need compensation in slip and fall cases.
Slip and fall cases are brought pursuant to the legal duty property owners owe to people who enter their property legally. Property owner’s, generally speaking, must maintain reasonably safe property conditions. Property owners must take reasonable steps to continue to ensure that their property remains relatively free from hazardous conditions that may cause harm to those who enter the property. Reasonableness it the key. A property owner will not be held responsible for every single injury that occurs on his or her property.
Reasonableness of the property visitor is also something that is usually taken into account in slip and fall cases. Yes, there may have been a hazardous property condition (such as an uneven pathway), but visitors to a property are expected to exercise a reasonable level of due care as well. Furthermore, a court will look to whether the property owner could have prevented the accident from occurring. Visitors must remain vigilant in their surroundings and make an effort to avoid potentially dangerous conditions.
In order to establish liability in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property caused by a dangerous condition, you will need to show that either the property owner or an employee should have known of the dangerous condition because a reasonable party in a similar position would have known about the condition and remedied it or you will need to be able to show that the property owner or an employee did know about the dangerous condition and did not take proper steps to remedy it.
In order to show that a reasonable person in the position of the employer or employee would have known and remedied the dangerous condition, you will need to address some fact-specific circumstances surrounding the incident. For instance, how long was the hazardous condition present prior to the slip and fall accident, was? Was it a weather related incident such as an icy pathway due to recent weather changes? The longer it was there, the more reasonable it would be to hold a property owner accountable for the harm it caused. You could also address what kinds of daily maintenance and cleaning the property owner directs on the property to check for hazards.
New York City Personal Injury Attorney
Have you been injured in a slip and fall caused by a hazardous condition on someone else’s property? You may be able to bring a slip and fall claim seeking compensation for your injuries and other losses. Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. P.C. will provide dedicated legal counsel and fight for your legal right to be compensated for the harm you have suffered. Contact our office today.
