Slips, trips, and falls

slip-trip-fall

Protecting the rights of victims when unsafe premises cause injuries

The attorneys at Abaev Law Firm, PLLC. have years of experience helping victims of slip and fall accidents pursue the full compensation they deserve when they suffer injuries from slipping, tripping, or falling on unsafe property.

Where slip and fall accidents occur

When you are injured while lawfully on someone else’s property, the owner is liable for your injuries if the owner’s negligence caused your injury. This is called premises liability. While premises liability includes slip, trip & fall situations, it is broader because it addresses any unsafe condition and resulting injury, whether caused by a fall or otherwise. You can be injured by:

  • Unmarked wet floors
  • Poorly-lit steps and staircases
  • On improperly-tacked down carpets
  • In snowy or icy parking lots or walkways
  • Scaffolding on construction sites
  • Snowy sidewalks

You can suffer severe injuries

With the winter season approaching many slip and fall accidents occur over slippery snow and ice as a result of a poorly maintained or neglected property. Both the private property owner and the city can be held liable if their negligence caused your injuries. Contact A.L.F. to speak to an experienced trial attorney to discuss your potential rights to Maximum Recovery for your Pain and Suffering

Slip and fall describes the type of injury suffered on someone else’s property as a result of a defect, slippery substance or other dangerous condition. These injuries commonly occur at supermarkets and restaurants and are due to food on the floor. They can also occur when inadequate steps are taken to remove ice and snow from sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots.

Generally, premises liability refers to the body of law, which holds a landowner and/or possessor of real property liable for injuries to others who suffer injury on their property. Typically, a premises liability lawsuit often arises from the property owner’s or occupant’s failure to maintain the property in a safe condition or failure to correct a dangerous condition on their property, which they knew about or upon reasonable inspection, should have known about.

Slip and fall and trip and fall accidents are by far the most common claims in New York involving premises liability lawsuits. Common causes of slip and fall or trip and fall injuries are due to foreign substances on the floor. The foreign substance is either sticky or slippery. Other common causes are from unmarked uneven surfaces, holes on the walking surface, or defects on a floor or stairway.
Other common types of premises liability actions include but are not limited to dog bite and animal attacks. A property owner in New York is strictly liable for dog bites. Dangerous conditions on the property contributing to injuries may include unsafe design or unsafe construction of buildings, poor lighting or inadequate lighting.

The general rule of law is that the owner or operator of the premises has a duty to keep the premises in reasonably safe condition or at least warn individuals of dangerous conditions of which the owner or possessor of the land either caused, knew about or should have known about.

It is best that an accident report be completed at the time of the incident. The accident report should specify what happened, who witnessed both the accident as well as the condition that caused the fall, along with any other important information such as the lighting conditions. The requirement for report is generally a question of store or business policy rather than something that’s mandated by the law.
If a report is not completed at the business location or the fall occurred at a private location or was not observed by others, you should compile a record of what happened yourself, including as much information as possible describing the circumstances of the fall, who was present, and any comments made by anyone who saw or helped you after the fall. If it is possible, photos of the area should be taken as soon as possible.
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