When you suffer an injury on another person’s property, understanding your legal rights becomes crucial for protecting your interests. A premises liability lawyer in NYC can help evaluate your situation and determine the appropriate steps forward. In this guide, Ross & Hill will explain what a New York premises liability lawyer does to help injured victims navigate their claims.
Understanding Property Owner Responsibilities and Your Rights
Slip-and-fall accidents represent a significant portion of premises liability cases but aren’t the only cause of injury. Common scenarios that may cause a premises liability injury include uneven or broken walking surfaces, poor lighting, falling objects, broken handrails, and wet floors.
Knowing how to respond to an incident in a public store or someone’s home begins with understanding your rights. Property owner responsibility encompasses maintaining safe conditions for visitors and addressing potential hazards promptly. Under New York law, building owners must regularly inspect their premises and fix dangerous conditions within a reasonable timeframe.
A few of the primary responsibilities owners must uphold include the following:
- Regular maintenance: They must conduct routine inspections to identify and repair potential hazards before they cause harm.
- Snow and ice removal: During winter months, owners must clear walkways, parking lots, and entrances within a reasonable time after precipitation ends.
- Adequate lighting: All common areas, stairwells, hallways, and parking areas require proper illumination to prevent accidents.
- Security measures: Appropriate security systems, cameras, and personnel may be necessary, depending on the building location and type.
- Warning signs: Owners must post clear warnings about known hazards that cannot be immediately repaired or removed.
When you enter a property as an invited guest or customer, you have the right to expect a reasonably safe environment. This applies to retail stores and shopping centers, apartment buildings and rental properties, office buildings and workplaces, restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as public spaces and government buildings.
How Do These Laws Apply to Private Residences?
Private homeowners also bear responsibility for maintaining safe conditions for invited guests, though the standards may differ from those of commercial properties. When you invite friends, family members, or service providers onto your property, you assume a duty of care to warn them about known hazards and maintain reasonably safe conditions.
This duty extends to both indoor and outdoor areas of the home, including swimming pools, walkways, and staircases. However, homeowners generally aren’t liable for injuries to trespassers unless the property contains attractive nuisances that might lure children, such as unfenced pools or abandoned equipment.
Social hosts should take particular care during gatherings or parties to address potential hazards and ensure adequate lighting in all areas guests might access. This includes temporary concerns like spills or recently mopped floors.
Immediate Steps To Take After an Injury
Taking prompt action after experiencing an injury strengthens your legal position. Document everything about the incident while details remain fresh in your memory, and speak with a New York premises liability lawyer as soon as possible.
We recommend taking the following steps after you’re hurt:
- Photograph the accident scene: Take clear photos of the hazardous condition from multiple angles. Document the surrounding area, including any missing warning signs or contributing factors.
- Report the incident: File a formal incident report with management or the owner immediately. Request a copy of the report and note the names of staff members you spoke with.
- Gather witness information: Collect names, phone numbers, and email addresses from anyone who saw the incident. Ask if they noticed the hazardous condition before your incident occurred.
- Seek medical care: Even if your injuries seem minor, visit an emergency room or urgent care facility. Follow all treatment recommendations and attend follow-up appointments.
- Preserve medical documentation: Keep copies of all medical bills, prescriptions, and treatment records. Organize receipts for all related expenses in a folder.
- Track lost income: Calculate all missed work hours and lost earning opportunities. Save documentation from your employer about time taken off for medical appointments.
- Consult legal counsel: Schedule a consultation with an experienced attorney to understand your rights. Bring all documentation to your initial meeting for review.
- Limit social media activity: Avoid posting about your accident or activities on social platforms. Insurance companies often monitor social media for evidence that could harm your claim.
Proving Negligence in Premises Liability Cases
As you’re recovering from your injuries, you’ll likely face mounting medical bills, losses from missed days of work, and other damages. To seek compensation for these expenses, you need to prove fault and negligence.
Establishing negligence requires demonstrating that the owner failed to maintain safe conditions or address known hazards. Your New York premises liability lawyer must show several key elements to support your case. These elements include the following:
- The owner’s duty of care toward visitors: Owners must maintain safe spaces and address known hazards within a reasonable timeframe. For example, a store owner must promptly clean up spills and place warning signs around wet floors to protect customers.
- A breach of that duty of care: When owners fail to meet their responsibilities, they breach their duty of care. This might include ignoring reported safety hazards, failing to repair broken stairs, or neglecting to remove ice from walkways within the hours or days following a storm.
- A direct connection between the breach and your injury: You must demonstrate that the property owner’s negligence directly caused your harm. For instance, if you slip on an unmarked wet floor that staff knew about but failed to address, this establishes a clear link between their negligence and your fall.
- Documented damages from the incident: Your case requires proof of actual harm or losses from the incident. This includes medical bills, lost wages, physical therapy costs, and documentation of how the diagnosis impacts your daily life.
Gathering comprehensive evidence to establish the above often proves more difficult than many victims realize. Because of this, you need to work with a highly skilled attorney who can interview witnesses, collect surveillance footage, collaborate with medical teams, and more to build your case.
Filing Injury Claims Within Legal Deadlines
Injury claims in New York follow specific timelines and procedures. Understanding these requirements helps protect your right to compensation under the law.
New York State provides a three-year statute of limitations for filing the majority of premises liability claims, starting from the date of the incident. However, claims against municipal properties require additional steps, including written notice of your intent to file within a much shorter timeframe.
Your claim must include comprehensive documentation supporting your case, such as incident reports, photographs, witness statements, and expense records. Medical evidence plays a crucial role in establishing the direct connection between hazardous conditions and your injuries. This includes doctor’s notes, diagnostic tests, treatment plans, and professional opinions about long-term impacts on your health and mobility.
For municipal property claims, you must file a Notice of Claim that details the incident’s time, location, and circumstances. Missing these deadlines or failing to provide proper notice can prevent you from pursuing compensation, regardless of the strength of your case.
Partner With Ross & Hill for Strong Legal Support
Understanding premises liability laws helps protect your rights after an injury on someone else’s property. Our team of New York premises liability lawyers works diligently to investigate incidents and build strong cases for our clients.
Next, learn more about common types of premises liability lawsuits that occur in New York. If you’re injured at a store or in someone’s home, contact Ross & Hill at 646-351-6222 to discuss your case.
