Accidents happen every day. Sometimes they are caused by our own inattentiveness. Other times, another person’s negligence is to blame. Typically, when you enter someone else’s property, they must make it safe for you. If you get hurt on someone else’s property, you could hold the property owner liable for your injuries, depending on the circumstances. Premises liability laws hold property owners accountable when guests and visitors are injured on their property. People often disregard these kinds of cases as non-serious, scoffing at the idea of a “slip-and-fall” accident. However, these cases can be very serious, with plaintiffs suffering serious harm.

If you were hurt while on someone else’s property, you could file a personal injury lawsuit against the property owner to recover damages. The nature of premises liability laws will differ depending on the plaintiff’s relationship with the defendant. While property owners typically owe a duty of care to invited guests, they owe no such duty to trespassers. Typical premises liability cases include accidents like slip-and-falls, dog bites, fires, accidents on stairs, or accidents involving machinery. Talk with our New York City attorney for deaths caused by residential house fires for more information.

If you were a guest on someone else’s property, either as a social guest or a patron of a business, and you were harmed in an accident, you could sue the property owner for your injuries. Our New York City premises liability attorneys can help you get the compensation you need to cover your expenses. Contact our team at The Carrion Law Firm for a free legal consultation today. Call our offices at (718) 841-0083 to speak with our New York City Attorney for Injuries Caused by Residential House Fires today.

What Happens If I Get Hurt on Someone Else’s Property in New York?

People are responsible for the safety conditions of their own properties. When a property owner welcomes guests onto the premises, they must make sure it is safe. Guests can be people explicitly invited into a property, like a social guest, or people impliedly permitted to enter, like customers in a grocery store. It could also include people who are not strictly invited but should be expected, like a mail carrier walking to your door to deliver a package. If any of these people are injured on someone else’s property, the laws of premises liability will apply.

Different situations may involve different rules under premises liability. Generally, the outcome of a case will depend on how the plaintiff and defendant know each other. Property owners owe invited guests a great legal duty of care. Uninvited guests, or unlawful entrants, may be owed no such duty.

Premises liability cases can range from the seemingly mundane to the outrageous. Common premises liability cases involve slip-and-fall accidents. These accidents often happen on wet or uneven floors or icy sidewalks. More serious cases could involve fires or even heavy machinery like roller coasters in amusement parks.

While it is unfortunate if you were injured on someone else’s property, not every plaintiff can sue. Defendants owe a duty of care to plaintiffs to maintain properties and keep them safe, but only within reason. In some instances, property owners may only have a duty to warn guests of certain hazards. Guests who are harmed after ignoring warnings, like wet floor signs or notices to keep away, may not have grounds to sue.

If you were injured in an accident on someone else’s property, call our Brooklyn personal injury attorneys for help. We will help you determine if you have a valid cause of action.

Duty of Care in Cases Where You Were Hurt on Someone Else’s Property in New York

In general, there are two types of entrants on someone else’s property. Lawful entrants are those who are explicitly or implicitly welcomed onto the property. Unlawful entrants or trespassers are not welcome onto the property and sometimes enter without the property owner’s knowledge. These groups could both be injured on the property owner’s premises, but only lawful entrants are owed a duty of care.

Lawful entrants can include all kinds of people who are welcome to enter. In the case of a private home, lawful entrants might be social guests paying a visit, a babysitter watching your kids, or a repairman coming to fix something. Lawful entrants could also be people you do not invite onto the premises but who can reasonably be expected to be there, like mail carriers or an electrician come to read your meter. In a more public setting, like a grocery store, museum, or amusement park, a lawful entrant is like a customer or a patron.

Property owners owe a duty of care to lawful entrants to make their properties as safe as possible. This duty of care means property owners must remedy any existing hazards they know about and make reasonable inspections for possible unknown hazards. Inviting a guest onto a property without correcting a known hazard or warning your guest is a breach of the owner’s duty of care.

Unlawful entrants are often perceived as trespassers and are owned no duty of care. Property owners cannot be expected to prepare for guests that are unwelcomed or unknown. This means if you enter your neighbor’s backyard without permission and get hurt, your neighbor might not be responsible because you were trespassing. Call our Bronx personal injury attorneys for more information.

Fair Warning Before Getting Hurt on Someone Else’s Property in New York

Entrants and guests who are provided with fair warning about certain hazards, but choose to enter the property anyway, might also be unable to sue for damages. Common examples of warnings include wet floor signs or signs to stay out. A property owner may also verbally tell a guest to stay away from certain parts of the property.

For example, suppose you pay a visit to your neighbor’s home, and your neighbor tells you to stay out of the basement because it is flooded. Next, suppose you enter the basement anyway and you slip, fall, and get a concussion. You might want to blame your neighbor for not cleaning up their wet basement, but because they warned you to keep out, they cannot be held liable. Technically, you became a trespasser when you entered the basement because you knew it was off-limits.

If you were hurt on someone else’s property but are unsure if you were a lawful entrant or not, call our Long Island personal injury lawyers for assistance.

Call Our New York Premises Liability Attorneys Today

If you were hurt in an accident on someone else’s property, that property owner might be liable for your injuries. Schedule a free legal consultation with our staff at The Carrion Law Firm. Call our offices today at (718) 841-0083.