New York Premises Liability

Premises Liability refers to cases in which injuries are sustained on the property or premises of a negligent third party. These types of cases often involve incidents of slip and/or trip and fall, when a defective condition, foreign substance or object causes a person to fall and sustain serious injury. An attorney must be able to show how long the dangerous condition or substance was there and must show the awareness the owner had before the accident.

Other cases can involve defective elevators and escalators and negligent security where a serious crime or attack occurs that could have been prevented through better security conditions or lighting.

Imagine all of the places you visit every day: hotels, shopping centers, businesses, apartments, and more. When you step foot onto someone else’s property, you have faith that the area is safe. However, as is all too often the case in New York, people trip and fall or have other injuries while on someone else’s premises. New York property owners have a responsibility to make the environment safe for others. If they fail to do so and there is an injury, they are considered negligent and you could be entitled to compensation. There are many kinds of incidents that fall into the umbrella of premises liability accidents. Those injuries relating to structural design flaws, unsafe conditions, environmental hazards, improper traffic patterns and a wide variety of other issues.

The first step in proving a premises liability case in New York is by demonstrating that the owner had prior knowledge of the hazard and failed to fix it in a timely manner. Common premises liabilities in New York include:

• Slip and fall or trip and fall accidents
• Weather hazards that are not corrected, such as icy walkways
• Broken or cracking sidewalks
• Broken steps
• Exposure to toxic chemical
• Elevator accidents
• Escalator accidents
• Dim lighting in a dark area resulting in a dangerous environment
• Lead poisoning
• Dog Bites