Staten Island Slip and Fall Lawyer
Slipping and falling can be embarrassing, and many of us hope nobody sees as we get up and walk away. However, some accidents are more serious, and people who slip and fall are badly injured.
If your accident happened because of poorly maintained property, the person or entity that owns the property might be responsible. You can take legal action against the owner of private property or a business if you slipped and fell in a store or restaurant. These accidents often happen because walkways are slick or wet, possibly from a spill that was not cleaned up. Uneven or damaged floors and stairs also cause a lot of falling accidents. To help prove your case against the negligent property owner, we need proof of your injuries and the accident scene. Photos of the location where you fell might be very helpful to your case. We can use this evidence to claim damages, including medical bills, pain, suffering, and more.
Call (718) 841-0083 and ask our slip and fall attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm for a free, private case review to begin.
Who Should Be Held Responsible for a Slip and Fall Accident on Staten Island?
When a person is hurt in a slip and fall accident, people tend to blame the injured victim and chalk the incident up to clumsiness. Not only is this an unfair assumption, but it is also often untrue. The person or people who own the property or premises where the accident occurred are often responsible instead, usually because they failed to maintain the property safely for guests.
Private property owners, such as homeowners or business owners, might be responsible for this kind of accident. For example, you might slip and fall on a neighbor’s unsafe stairs or in a spill in a grocery store that was negligently ignored by managers.
Premises liability laws hold that property owners owe a duty of care to guests. These guests may include people directly invited to the premises, like a social guest, or someone not directly invited but still reasonably expected, like a business patron. Unknown trespassers are owed no duty of care.
This duty requires property owners to make the premises safe for guests by removing or repairing hazards or dangerous conditions. For example, if your neighbor’s front steps are falling apart and unsafe, they have a duty to repair them before inviting guests to use the steps. Property owners also owe a duty to make reasonable inspections for unknown hazards. This often involves routine maintenance and repairs. The owner of the property might still be held responsible for hazards they did not know about if they could have discovered the dangerous conditions through a reasonable inspection.
How Slip and Fall Accidents Might Happen on Staten Island
Slip and fall accidents are more or less exactly what they sound like. Someone slips because of unsafe conditions on someone else’s property and gets hurt. As you might imagine, a person might slip and fall in hundreds of ways, depending on the circumstances. Understanding what caused you to fall and become injured is crucial to how our slip and fall attorneys will look for evidence and assess damages.
Icy or wet walkways are a classic example of how slip and falls occur. Indiana is known for its harsh midwestern winters, and people are far more likely to slip on a patch of ice during winter. Perhaps you were walking up your neighbor’s steps or entering a store to do some shopping when you slipped on some ice. The property owner might be responsible if they fail to remove the ice or at least post a warning sign.
Another possibility is that the floor of a particular property is uneven or damaged. This is a common problem in older properties, like historic buildings or old homes with original floors. Again, property owners are responsible for making necessary repairs and inspections. Failure to do so might leave them liable for your damages.
Spills and messes are frequent in certain businesses, and managers or employees must always be ready to clean up quickly. You might slip in a spilled drink in restaurants, or some spilled liquid in a grocery store. Not only should someone clean up the mess quickly, but they should also place a wet-floor sign to warn customers of the wet, freshly cleaned floor.
Evidence We Need to Prove the Defendant’s Negligence Caused Your Staten Island Slip and Fall
Evidence is the name of the game when it comes to injury cases. You need evidence to back up your claims; otherwise, you will unlikely get the financial compensation you deserve. First, we should find evidence that the defendant owns the property. This might only be necessary if the defendant disputes ownership. Often, a search of property records can prove this.
Next, we need evidence you were a guest and had a right or authorization to be present on the premises. The defendant’s duty of care only extends to certain people. You must have been invited onto the property (e.g., a social guest) or reasonably expected to show up (e.g., a mailman on the front step or a customer in a store). If you were prohibited from entering the premises, there might be a problem. Talk to an attorney to make sure.
We also need evidence of the unsafe conditions. This is where things can get tricky. Often, defendants clean up the dangerous conditions that caused your accident after you leave. When plaintiffs return to gather evidence, it might all be gone. Still, we can talk to people who saw your accident and possibly have them testify as witnesses. We can also check for security camera footage or use photos you took of the scene right after the accident.
We need evidence of your damages. Photos of your injuries, along with medical records that more clearly establish the extent of the damage, might be important. This is another reason you should get to a hospital immediately after a slip and fall.
Speak to Our Staten Island Slip and Fall Attorneys for Help
Call (718) 841-0083 and ask our slip and fall attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm for a free, private case review to begin.